THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
FROM THE LIBRARY OF
ERNEST CARROLL MOORE
THE LIFE
OF
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON,
LORD HIGH CHANCELLOR OF ENGLAND,
AND
CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD.
Ne quidfalsi dicere audeat, ne quid veri non audeat. CICKRO.
THE LIFE
OF
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON,
LORD HIGH CHANCELLOR OF ENGLAND,
AND
CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD :
IN WHICH IS INCLUDED
A CONTINUATION
OF HIS
HISTORY OF THE GRAND REBELLION.
WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.
A NEW EDITION,
EXHIBITING A FAITHFUL COLLATION OF THE ORIGINAL MS.,
WITH ALL THE SUPPRESSED PASSAGES.
VOL. II.
OXFORD,
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.
MDCCCXXVII.
CoBegt
Library
THE
CONTINUATION
OF
THE LIFE
OF
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON.
ALL this was done between the dissolution of the 1661.
parliament in December, and the assembling the The new
other in May following. And a upon the first day of J^™ent
its coming together, which was upon the eighth of May 8-
May, the very day b that his majesty had been pro-
claimed the year before,0 he toldd them " that he hadThe kins's
speech.
" deferred it a week, that they might meet upon
" that day, for the memory of the former day."
The king, after some gracious expressions of his
confidence in them, told them " that they would
" find what method he thought best for their pro-
" ceeding, by two bills which he had caused to be
" provided for them, which were for confirmation of
" all that had been enacted in the last meeting;"
and repeated what he had said to them when he
a following. And] following, twelvemonth
and c before,] before them.
b the very day] the very day ll he told] And he told
VOL. II. B
2 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. was last there: " that next to the miraculous bless-
Hc prefse$ « ing of God Almighty, and indeed as an immediate
them to « effect of that blessing, he did impute the good dis-
< .min m the
act of in- « position and security they were all in, to the happy
" act of indemnity and oblivion : that," his majesty
said, " was the principal corner-stone that supported
" that excellent building, that created kindness in
" them to each other ; and confidence was their joint
" and common security." He told them, " he was
" still of the same opinion, and more, if it were pos-
" sible, of that opinion than he had been, by the ex-
" perience he had of the benefit of it, and from the
" unreasonableness of what some men said against
" it." He desired them " to provide full remedies
" for future mischiefs ; to be as severe as they would
" against new offenders, especially if they were so
" upon old principles ; and that they would pull up
" those principles by the roots. But," his majesty
said, " he should never think him a wise man, that
" would endeavour to undermine and shake that
" foundation of the public peace, by infringing that
" act in the least degree ; or that he could be his
" friend, or wish him well, who would persuade him
" ever to consent to the breach of a promise he had
" so solemnly made when he was abroad, and had
" performed with that solemnity after, and because
" he had promised it : and that he could not sus-
" pect any attempts of that kind by any men of
" merit and virtue."
And this warmth of his majesty upon this sub-
ject was not then more than needed : for the armies
being now disbanded, there were great combinations
entered into, not to confirm the act of oblivion ;
which they knew without confirmation would sig-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 3
nify nothing. Men were well enough contented, 1661.
that the king should grant indemnity to all men""
that had rebelled against him ; that he should grant
their lives and fortunes to them, who had forfeited
them to him : hut they thought it very unreason-
able and unjust, that the king should release those
debts which were immediately due to them, and
forgive those trespasses which had been committed
to their particular damage. They could not endure
to meet the same men in the king's highway, now
it was the king's highway again, who had hereto-
fore affronted them in those ways, because they
were not the king's, and only because they knew
they could obtain no justice against them. They
could not with any patience see those men, who not
only during the war had oppressed them, plundered
their houses, and had their own adorned with the
furniture they had robbed them of, ride upon the
same horses which they had then taken from them
upon no other pretence, but because they were bet-
ter than their own; but after the war was ended,
had committed many insolent trespasses upon them
wantonly, and to shew their power of justice of
peace, or committee men, and had from the lowest
beggary raised great estates, out of which they were e
well able to satisfy, at least in some degree, the da-
mages the other had sustained. And those and other
passions of this kind, which must have invalidated
the whole act of indemnity, could not have been ex-
tinguished without the king's influence, and indeed
his immediate interposition and industry.
When his majesty had spoken all he thought fitHe.ac*
c were] Not in MS.
B 2
4 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. upon that subject, he told them, "he could not
them w;th " conclude without telling them some news, news
his intended « that he thought would be very acceptable to them ;
" and therefore he should think himself unkind and
" ill-natured, if he should not impart it to them.
" That he had been often put in mind by his friends,
" that it was high time to marry ; and he had
" thought so himself, ever since he came into Eng-
" land : but there appeared difficulties enough in
" the choice, though many overtures had been made
"to him. And if he should never marry till he
" could make such a choice, against which there
" could be no foresight of any inconvenience that
" might ensue, they would live to see him an old
" bachelor, which he thought they did not desire to
" do." He said, " he could now tell them, not only
" that he was resolved to marry, but whom he re-
" solved to marry, if it pleased God. That towards
" his resolution, he had used that deliberation, and
" taken that advice, that he ought to do in a case
" of that importance, and with a full consideration
" of the good of his subjects in general, as of him-
" self. It was with the daughter of Portugal. That
" when he had, as well as he could, weighed all that
" occurred to himself, the first resolution he took,
" was to state the whole overtures which had been
" made to him, and in truth all that had been said
" against it, to his privy council ; without hearing
" whose advice, he never did nor ever would resolve
" any thing of public importance. And," he said,
" he told them with great satisfaction and comfort
" to himself, that after many hours debate in full
" council f, (for he thought there was not above one
f in full council] in a full council
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 5
" absent,) and he believed upon weighing all that 1661.
" could be said upon that subject, for or against it ;
" the lords, without one dissenting voice, advised
" him with all imaginable cheerfulness to this mar-
" riage : which he looked upon as very wonderful,
" and even as some instance of the approbation of
" God himself. That he had thereupon taken his own
" resolution, and concluded with the ambassador of
" Portugal, who was departing with the whole treaty
" signed, which they would find to contain many
" great advantages to the kingdom ; and that he
" would make all the haste he could, to fetch them
" a queen hither, who he doubted not would bring
" great blessings with her, to him and them."
The next day the two houses of parliament, after The two
, . . houses ex-
they had expressed all the joy imaginable amongst press their
them, sent to the king, "that he would appoint alionont.
" time when he would admit them to his presence :"
which when he had done, both houses of parliament,
in a body, presented by the speaker of the house of
peers their humble thanks to his majesty, " for that
" he had vouchsafed to acquaint them with his reso-
" lution to marry, which had exceedingly rejoiced
" their hearts, and would, they doubted not, draw
" down God's blessing upon his majesty and the
" kingdom." Shortly after, the fleet was made ready,
and the earl of Sandwich, admiral thereof, was like-
wise made ambassador to Portugal, and appointed
to receive the queen, and to conduct her into Eng-
land.
This was the whole proceeding, from the begin-
ning to the end of that treaty about the marriage
of the king ; by the whole circumstances whereof it
is apparent enough, that no particular corruption in
B 3
6 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
166). any single person could have brought it to pass in
~~ that manner, and that the chancellor never proposed
it, nor heard of it but from the king himself, nor
advanced it afterwards more than every one of the
other lords did ; and if he had done less, he could
neither have been thought a prudent or an honest
man : * to which no more shall be added, than that
neither before or in the treaty, or after the mar-
riage, he ever received the least reward or the least
present from Portugal. &
New bi- During the interval of parliament, the king had
shops ap- ,
pointed, made choice of many very eminent and learned men,
who were consecrated to some of the sees of bishops
which were void ; that the preservation of the suc-
cession might not depend upon the lives of the few
bishops who remained, and who were all very aged :
which could not have been done sooner, nor till the
other parliament, to whom the settlement of the
church had been referred, was dissolved. Nor could
he yet give any remedy to the licence in the prac-
tice of religion, which in all places was full of scan-
dal and disorder, because the liturgy was not yet
finished ; till when, the indulgence by his declara-
tion was not to be restrained. But at the same
time that he issued out his writs for convening the
A convoca- parliament, he had likewise h sent summons to the
tion sum- • • •• n-i • ni •
moued. bishops, for the meeting of the clergy in convoca-
tion, which is the legal synod in England ; against
the coming together whereof the liturgy would be
finished, which his majesty intended to send thither
* to which — Portugal.] Thus riage, he never received the least
in MS. : to which no more shall reward, or the least present from
be added, that neither before, or Portugal.
in the treaty, or after the mar- h likewise] like
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 7
to be examined, debated, and confirmed. And then 1661.
he hoped to provide, with the assistance of the par-~~
liament, such a settlement in religion, as would pre-
vent any disorder in the state upon those pretences.
And it was very necessary to lose no time in the
prosecution of that cure ; for the malignity against
the church appeared to increase, and to be greater
than it was upon the coming in of the king.
The old bishops who remained alive, and such
deans and chapters as were numerous enough for
the corporation, who had been long kept fasting,
had now appetites proportionable. Most of them
were very poor, and had undergone great extremi-
ties; some of the bishops having supported them-
selves and their families1 by teaching schools, and
submitting to the like low condescensions. And
others saw, that if they died before they were en-
abled to make some provision for them, their wives
and children must unavoidably starve : and there-
fore they made haste to enter upon their own. And
now an ordinance of parliament had not strength
enough to batter an act of parliament. They called
their old tenants to account for rent, and to renew
their estates if they had a mind to it ; for most old
leases were expired in the long continuance of the
war, and the old tenants had been compelled either
to purchase a new right and title from the state,
(when the ordinance was passed for taking away all
bishops, deans, and chapters, and for selling all the
lands which belonged to them,) or to sell their pre-
sent estates to those, who had purchased the rever-
sion and the inheritance thereof: so that lx)th the
1 families] family
B 4
8 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. one and the other, the old tenants and the new pur-
~~ chasers, repaired to the true owners as soon as the
king was restored ; the former expecting to be re-
stored again to the possession of what they had sold,
under an unreasonable pretence of a tenant right,
(as they called it,) because there remained yet (as in
many cases there did) a year or some other term of
their old leases unexpired, and because they had out
of conscience forborne to buy the inheritance of the
church, which was first offered to them. And for
the refusal thereof, and such a reasonable fine as
was usual, they hoped to have a new lease, and to
be readmitted to be tenants to the church. The
other, the purchasers, (amongst which there were
some very infamous persons,) appeared as confident,
and did not think, that according to the clemency
that was practised towards all sorts of men, it could
be thought justice, that they should lose the entire
sum they had disbursed upon the faith of that go-
vernment, which the whole kingdom submitted to ;
but that they should, instead of the inheritance they
had an ill title to, have a good lease for lives or
years granted to them by them who had now the
right ; at least, that upon the old rent and moderate
fines they should be continued tenants to the church,
without any regard to those who had sold both their
possession, and with that all the right or title that
they might pretend to, for a valuable consideration.
And they had the more hope of this, because the
king had granted a commission, under the great
seal of England, to some lords of the council and to
other eminent persons, to interpose and mediate with
the bishops and clergy in such cases, as ought not
to be prosecuted with rigour.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 9
But the bishops and clergy concerned had not the 1661.
good fortune to please their old or their new tenants. A cianiour
They had been very barbarously used themselves ; ™?J8t the
and that had too much quenched all tenderness to- bish°Ps and
. . cJergy by
wards others. They did not enough distinguish be- their te-
tween persons: nor did the suffering any man had"8
undergone for fidelity to the king, or his affection
to the church eminently expressed, often prevail for
the mitigation of his fine ; or if it did sometimes,
three or four stories of the contrary, and in which
there had been some unreasonable hardness used,
made a greater noise and spread further, than their
examples of charity and moderation. And as honest
men did not k usually fare the better for any merit,
so the purchasers who offered most money, did not
fare the worse for all the villainies they had com-
mitted. And two or three unhappy instances of this
kind brought scandal upon the whole church, as if
they had been all guilty of the same excesses, which
they were far from. And by this means the new
bishops, who did not all follow the precedents made
by the old, underwent the same reproaches : and
many of them who had most adhered to their order,
and for so doing had undergone for twenty years
together sundry persecutions and oppressions, were
not in their present passion so much pleased with
the renewing it, as they expected to have been. Yet
upon a very strict examination of the true grounds
of all those misprisions, (except some few instances
which cannot be defended,) there will be found more
passion than justice in them ; and that there was
even a necessity to raise as much money as could be
* not] Not in MS.
10 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. justly done, for the repairing the cathedrals, which
"were all miserably ruinated or defaced, and for the
entirely building up many houses of the prebends,
which had been pulled down or let fall to the
ground. And those ways much more of those mo-
nies which were raised by fines were issued and ex-
pended, than what went into the private purses of
them, who had a right to them, and had need
enough of them. But the time began to be fro-
ward again, and all degrees of men were hard to
be pleased ; especially when they saw one classis of
men restored to more than they had ever lost, and
preferred to a plenty they had never been acquaint-
ed with, whilst themselves remained remediless after
so many sufferings, and without any other testimony
of their courage and fidelity, than in the ruin of
their fortunes, and the sale of their inheritance.
The king's Another great work was performed, between the
coronation, .
April 23. dissolution of the last and the beginning of the next
parliament, which was the ceremony of the king's
coronation ; and was done with the greatest solem-
nity and glory, that ever any had been seen in that
kingdom. That the novelties and new inventions,
with which the kingdom had been so much intoxi-
cated for so many years together, might be discoun-
tenanced and discredited in the eyes of the people,
for the folly and want of state thereof; his majesty
had directed the records and old formularies should
be examined, and thereupon all things should be
prepared, and all forms accustomed be used1, that
might add lustre and splendour to the solemnity. A
court of claims was erected, where before the lords
1 accustomed be used] accustomed to be used
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 11
commissioners for that service, all persons made 1661.
claim to those privileges and precedency, which"
they conceived to be due to their persons, or the of-
fices of which they were possessed, in the ceremony
of the coronation ; which were allowed or rejected
as their right appeared.
The king went early in the morning to the Tower
of London in his coach, most of the lords being there
before. And about ten of the clock they set for-
ward towards Whitehall, ranged in that order as
the heralds had appointed ; those of the long robe,
the king's council at law, the masters of the chan-
cery, and judges, going first, and so the lords in
their order, very splendidly habited, on rich foot-
cloths ; the number of their footmen being limited,
to the dukes ten, to the earls eight, and to the vis-
counts six, and the barons four, all richly clad, as
their other servants were. The whole show was
the most glorious in the order and expense, that had
been ever seen in England ; they who rode first be-
ing in Fleet-street when the king issued out of the
Tower, as was known by the discharge of the ord-
nance : and it was near three of the clock in the
afternoon, when the king alighted at Whitehall.
The next morning the king rode in the same state
in his robes and with his crown on his head, and all
the lords in their robes, to Westminster-hall ; where
all the ensigns for the coronation were delivered to
those who were appointed to carry them, the earl
of Northumberland being made high constable, and
the earl of Suffolk earl marshal, for the day. And
then all the lords in their order, and the king him-
self, walked on foot upon blue cloth from Westmin-
12 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. ster-hall to the abbey church, where, after a sermon
— : preached by Dr. Morley, (then bishop of Worcester,)
in Henry the Seventh's chapel, the king was sworn,
crowned, and anointed, by Dr. Juxon, archbishop of
Canterbury, with all the solemnity that in those
cases had been used. All which being done, the
king returned in the same manner on foot to West-
minster-hall, which was adorned with rich hangings
and statues ; and there the king dined, and the lords
on either side at tables provided for them : and all
other ceremonies were performed with great order
and magnificence.
TWO un- I should not have enlarged thus much upon the
lucky acci- .
dents which ceremony of the coronation, it may be not men-
tioned it, (a perfect narration having been then made
and published of it, with all the grandeur and mag-
nificence of the city of London,) but that there were
two accidents in it, the one absolutely new, the
other that produced some inconveniences which
were not then discerned. The first was, that it be-
ing the custom in those great ceremonies or tri-
umphs of state, that the master of the king's horse
(who is always a great man, and was now the duke
of Albemarle, the general) rides next after the king
with a led horse in his hand : in this occasion the
duke of York privately prevailed with the king,
who had not enough reverence for old customs,
without any consultation, that his master of his
horse, (so he was called,) Mr. Jermyn, a younger
brother of a very private gentleman's family, should
ride as near his person, as the general did to his
majesty, and lead a horse likewise in his hand; a
thing never heard of before. Neither in truth hath
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 13
the younger brother of the king such an officer as 1661,
master of his horse, which ism a term restrained
within the family of the king, queen, and prince of
Wales ; and the two masters of the horse to the
queen and prince are subordinate to the king's mas-
ter of his horse, who hath the jurisdiction over the
other. The lords were exceedingly surprised and
troubled at this, of which they heard nothing till
they saw it ; and they liked it the worse, because
they discerned that it issued from a fountain, from
whence many bitter waters were like to flow, the
customs of the court of France, whereof the king
and the duke had too much the image in their
heads, and than which there could not be a copy
more universally ingrateful and odious to the Eng-
lish nation.
The other was : In the morning of the corona-
tion, whilst they sat at the table in Westminster-
hall, to see the many ensigns of the coronation de-
livered to those lords who were appointed to carry
them, the earl of Northumberland, who was that ,
day high constable, came to the king and told him,
" that amongst the young noblemen who were ap-
" pointed to carry the several parts of the king's
" mantle, the lord Ossory, who was the eldest son
" to the duke of Ormond, challenged the place be-
" fore the lord Percy, who was his eldest son ;
" whereas," he said, " the duke of Ormond had no
" place in the ceremony of that day, as duke, but
" only as earl of Brecknock, and so the eldest sons
" of all ancienter earls ought to take place of his
" eldest son ;" which was so known a rule, and of so
m is] Omitted in MS.
14 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. general a concernment, that the king could not
choose but declare it, and send a message to the
lord Ossory by the lord chamberlain, " that he
" should desist from his pretence." This, and the
public manner of asking and determining it, pro-
duced two ill effects. The first, a jealousy and ill
understanding between the two great families : the
one naturally undervaluing and contemning his
equals, without paying much regard to his supe-
riors ; and the other not being used to be contemned
by any, and well knowing that all the advantages
the earl had in England, either in antiquity or for-
tune, he had the same in Ireland, and that he had
merited and received an increase of title, when the
other had deserved to lose that which he was born
to. The other, was a jealousy and prejudice that it
raised in the nobility of England, as if the duke of
Ormond (who in truth knew nothing of it) had en-
tered upon that contest, in hope that by his interest
in the king, he should be 'able to put this eternal
affront upon the peers of England, to bring them
upon the same level with those of Ireland, who
had no such esteem. And it did not a little add to
their envy, that he had behaved himself so wor-
thily throughout the ill times, that he was the ob-
ject of an universal reverence at home and abroad ;
which was a reproach to most of them, whose ac-
tions would not bear the light. But as the duke
was not in the least degree privy to the particular
contest, nor raised the value of himself from any
merit in his services, nor undervalued others upon
the advantage of their having done amiss ; so he
was abundantly satisfied in the testimony of his own
conscience, and in his unquestionable innocence,
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 15
and from thence too much despised the prejudice 1661.
and the envy the others had towards him, the marks n ~
whereof he was compelled afterwards to bear, which
he did with the same magnanimity.
Before we proceed further in the relation of what
was afterwards done, it will not be unseasonable in
this place to give an account of somewhat that was
not done, and which was generally expected to have
been done, and as generally censured because it was
not ; the reason whereof is known to very few. The A solemn
king had resolved before his coming into England, of th
that as soon as he should be settled in any cond
tion of security, and no just apprehension of future
troubles, he would take up and remove the body of
his father, the last king, from Windsor, and inter it
with all solemnity at Westminster; and that the
court should continue in mourning till the corona-
tion. And many good people thought this so neces-
sary, that they were much troubled that it was not
done, and liked not the reasons which were given,
which made it appear that it had been considered.
The reasons which were given in public discourses
from hand to hand, were two. The first ; that now
ten years were past since that woful tragedy, and
the joy and the triumph for the king's return had
composed the minds of the people, it would not be
prudent to renew the memory of that parricide, by
the spectacle of a solemn funeral ; lest it might
cause such commotions of the vulgar in all places,
as might produce great disorders and insurrections
amongst those who had formerly served the king-
dom, as if it were a good season and a new provo-
11 the marks] and ihe marks
16 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. cation to take revenge upon their neighbours, who
~~ had formerly tyrannized over them ; which might
likewise have caused the soldiers, who were newly
disbanded, to draw themselves together for their
own security : and so the peace would be at least
disturbed. The other was ; that to perform this in-
terment in any private manner, would be liable to
very just censure, when all things relating to the
king himself had showed so magnificently ; and if it
were done with the usual pomp of a solemn inter-
ment of a king, the expense would be so vast, that
there would be neither money found nor ° credit for
the charge thereof.
But upon These were the reasons alleged and spread abroad ;
search the ..,„., .
body could nor was either of them m itself without weight to
found? thinking men. But the true reason was : at the
time of that horrid murder, Windsor was a garrison
under the command of a citizen, who was an ana-
baptist, with all his officers and soldiers. The men
had broken down all the wainscot, rails, and parti-
tions, which divided the church, defaced all the mo-
numents and other marks, and reduced the whole
into the form of a stable or barn, and scarce fit for
any other use; when Cromwell had declared that
the royal body should be privately interred in the
church of the castle at Windsor, and the marquis
of Hertford, the duke of Richmond, the earls of
Southampton and Lindsey, had obtained leave to be
present (only to be present, for they had no power
to prepare or do any thing in it) at their master's
burial. Those great men were not suffered to have
above three servants each, to enter into the castle
0 nor] or
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 17
with them; and it may easily be concluded, that 1661.
their own noble hearts were too full of sorrow, to
send their eyes abroad to take notice of the places
by which they passed. They found the church so
wild a place, that P they knew not where they were ;
and as soon as ^ the royal body was put into the
ground, they were conducted out of the castle to
their lodging in the town, and the next morning re-
turned to their several houses. Shortly after the
king returned from beyond the seas, he settled the
dean and chapter of Windsor, with direction to put
his royal chapel there into the order it used to be,
and to repair the ruins thereof, which was a long
and a difficult work. His majesty commanded the
dean carefully to inform himself of the place, in
which the king's body had been interred, and to
give him notice of it. Upon inquiry he could not
find one person in the castle or in the town who
had been present at the burial. When the parlia-
ment first seized upon the castle and put a garrison
into it, shortly after, they not only ejected r all the
prebends and singingmen of the royal chapel, but
turned out 8 all the officers and servants who had any
relation to the king or to the church, except only
those who were notorious for their infidelity towards
the king or the church : and of those, or of the offi-
cers or soldiers of the garrison, there could not now
one man be found, who was in the church when the
king was buried. The duke of Richmond and the
marquis of Hertford were both dead : and the king
sent (after he had received that account from the
P that] Not in MS. had not only ejected
i soon asj Not in MS. a but turned out] but had
r they not only ejected] they turned out
VOL. II. C
18 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. dean) the two surviving lords, the earl of South-
""ampton and of Lindsey, to Windsor; who taking
with them as many of those three servants who had
been admitted to attend them, as were now living,
they could not recollect their memories, nor find
any one mark by which they could make any judg-
ment, near what place the king's body lay. They
made some guess, by the information of the work-
men who had been now employed in the new pave-
ment of the church, and upon their observation of
any place where the earth * had seemed to lie lighter,
that it might be in or near that place : but when
they had caused it to be digged, and searched in u
and about it, they found nothing. And upon their
return, the king gave over * all further thought of in-
quiry : and those other reasons were cast abroad
upon any occasional inquiry or discourse of that
subject.
The affairs That which gave the king most trouble, and de-
of Ireland
resumed, prived him of that ease and quiet which he had
promised to himself during the vacation between
the two parliaments, was the business of Ireland ;
which we shall now take up again, and continue the
relation without interruption, as long as we shall
think fit to make any mention of that affair. We
left it in the hands of the lord Roberts, whom the
king had declared deputy of Ireland, presuming that
he would upon conference with the several parties,
who were all appointed to attend him, so shape and
model the whole bulk, that it might be more ca-
pable of some further debate before his majesty
1 upon their observation of earth
any place where the earth] u in] Omitted in MS.
upon their observation that the * over] Omitted in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 19
in council: but that hand did not hold it many J6C1.
days.
That noble lord, though of a good understanding, character
was of so morose a nature, that it was no easy mat- bertYth?0
ter to treat with him. He had some pedantic parts of deputy>
learning, which made his other parts of judgment the
worse, for he had some parts of good knowledge in
the law, and in antiquity, in the precedents of for-
mer times ; all which were rendered the less useful,
by the other pedantry contracted out of some books,
and out of the ill conversation he had y with some
clergymen and people in quality much below him,
by whose weak faculties he raised the value of his
own, which were very capable of being improved in
better company. He was naturally proud and im-
perious ; which humour was increased by an ill
education; for excepting some years spent in the
inns of court amongst the books of the law, he
might be very justly said to have been born and
bred in Cornwall. There were many days passed
after the king's declaration of him to be deputy, be-
fore he could be persuaded to visit the general, who
he knew was to continue lieutenant ; and when he
did visit him, it was with so ill a grace, that the
other received no satisfaction in it, and the less, be-
cause he plainly discerned that it proceeded from
pride, which he bore the more uneasily, because as
he was now the greater man, so he knew himself to
be of a much better family. He made so many
doubts and criticisms upon the draught of his pa-
tent, that the attorney general was weary of attend-
ing him ; and when all things were agreed on at
y had] had had
c 2
20 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. night, the next morning produced new dilemmas.
But that which was worse than all this, he received
those of the Irish nation of the best quality, and who
were of the privy council and chief command in that
kingdom, so superciliously ; received their informa-
tion so negligently, and gave his answers so scorn-
fully ; that after they had waited upon him four or
five days, they besought the king that they might
not be obliged to attend him any more. And it was
evident, that his carriage towards them was not to
be submitted to by persons of his own quality, or of
any liberal education : nor did he make any advance
towards the business.
This gave the king very great trouble, and them
as much pleasure who had never liked the designa-
tion. He knew not what to do with his deputy, nor
what to do for Ireland. The lord Roberts was not
a man that was to be disgraced and thrown off,
without much inconvenience and hazard. He had
parts which in council and parliament (which were
the two scenes where all the king's business lay)
were very troublesome ; for of all men alive who had
so few friends, he had the most followers. They
who conversed most with him, knew him to have
many humours which were very intolerable; they
who were but a little acquainted with him, took him
to be a man of much knowledge, and called his mo-
rosity gravity, and thought the severity of his man-
ners made him less grateful to the courtiers. He
had no such advantageous faculties in his delivery,
as could impose upon his auditors ; but he was never
tedious, and his words made impression. In a word,
he was such a man as the king thought worthy to
be compounded with. And therefore his majesty
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 21
appointed the lord chancellor and the lord treasurer 1C6I.
to confer with him, and to dispose him to accept the The kin
office of privy seal, which gave him a great pre-
cedence that would gratify that passion which was offer of the
. . n . . _ _ .. privy seal.
strongest in him ; tor in his nature he preferred
place before money, which his fortune stood more in
need of. And the king thought, it would be no ill
argument to incline him to give over the thought of
Ireland, that it was impossible for the king to sup-
ply him for the present with near any such sum of
money as he had very reasonably demanded, for the
satisfaction of the army there, (which was upon the
matter to be new modelled, and some part of it dis-
banded,) with the reduction of many officers, and for
his own equipage.
They began their approach to him, by asking
him " when he would be ready for his journey to
" Ireland;" to which he answered with some quick-
ness, " that he was confident there was no purpose
" to send him thither, for that he saw there was no
" preparation of those things, without which the king
" knew well that it was not possible for him to go ;
" nor had his majesty lately spoken to him of it.
" Besides, he had observed, that the chancellor had
" for many days past called him at the council, and
" in all other places where they met, by the name of
" lord Roberts ; whereas, for some months before, he
" had upon all occasions and in all places treated
" him with the style of lord deputy : which gave him
" first cause to believe, that there was some altera-
" tion in the purpose of sending him thither." They
both assured him, " that the king had no other per-
" son in his view but himself for that service, if he
" were disposed to undertake it vigorously ; but that
c 3
1661. " tne king had forborne lately to speak with him of
" it, because he found it impossible for him to pro-
" vide the money he proposed ; and it could not be
" denied, that he had proposed it very reasonably in
" all respects. However, it being impossible to pro-
" cure it, and that he could not go without it, for
" which he could not be blamed, his majesty must
" find some other expedient to send his authority
" thither, the government there being yet so loose,
" that he could not but every day expect to receive
" news of some great disorder there, the ill conse-
" quence whereof would be imputed to his majesty's
" want of care and providence. That his majesty
" had yet forborne to think of that expedient, till he
" might do it with his consent and advice, and until
" he could resolve upon another post, where he might
" serve his majesty with equal honour, and by which
" the world might see the esteem he had of him.
" And therefore since it would be both unreasonable
" and unjust, to press him to go for Ireland without
" those supplies, and it was equally impossible to pre-
" pare and send those supplies ;" they said, " the
" king had commanded them to propose to him, that
" he would make him lord privy seal, an office he
" well understood. And if he accepted that and
" were possessed of it, (as he should immediately be,)
" his majesty would enter upon new considerations
" how to settle the tottering condition of Ireland."
The lord's dark countenance presently cleared lip,
having no doubt expected to be deprived of his title
to Ireland, without being assigned any other any
where else : and now being offered the third place
of precedence in the nobility, the privy seal going
next to the treasurer, upon a very short recollection,
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 23
he declared "that he received it as a great honour, 1661.
" that the king would make use of his service z in any Lord RO-
" place, and that he submitted wholly to his good
" pleasure, and would serve him with great fidelity."
The next day the king gave him the privy seal at the p|ace of
deputy.
the council-board, where he was sworn and took his
place ; and to shew his extraordinary talent, found a
way more to obstruct and puzzle business, at least
the despatch of it, than any man in that office had
ever done before : insomuch as the king found him-
self compelled, in a short time after, to give order
that most grants and patents, which required haste,
should pass by immediate warrant to the great seal,
without visiting the privy seal ; which preterition
was not usual, and brought some inconvenience and
prejudice to the chancellor.
Though the king had within himself a prospect of
the expedient, that would be fittest for him to make
use of for the present, towards the settlement of Ire-
land ; yet it was absolutely necessary for him, even
before he could make use of that expedient, to put
the several claims and petitions of right which were
depending before him, and which were attended with
such an unruly number of suitors, into some such
method of examining and determining, that they
might not be left in the confusion they were then in. The kinR
And this could not be done, without his imposing parties,
upon himself the trouble of hearing once at large, all
that every party of the pretenders could allege for
the support of their several pretences : and this he
did with incredible patience for very many days to-
gether. We shall first mention those interests, which
z use] Not in MS.
c 4
24 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. gave the king least trouble, because they admitted
least debate.
The king's ft was looked upon as very scandalous, that the
fneud» re-
•tored by marquis of Ormond should remain so long without
i lament, the possession of any part of his estate ; which had
been taken from him upon no other pretence, but his
adhering to the king. And therefore there was an
act of parliament passed with the consent of all par-
ties, that he should be presently restored to all his
estate ; which was done with the more ease, because
the greatest part of it (for his wife's land had been
before assigned to her in Cromwell's time, or rather
in his son Harry's) lay within that province, which
Cromwell out of his husbandry had reserved for him-
self, exempt from all title or pretence of adventurer
or soldier : what other part of his estate either the
one or the other were possessed of, in their own
judgments it a was so impossible for them to enjoy,
that they very willingly yielded it up to the marquis,
in hope of having recompense made to them out of
other lands. There could as little be said against
the restoration of the earl of Inchiquin to his estate,
which had been taken from him and distributed
amongst the adventurers and soldiers, for no other
cause but his serving the king. There were likewise
some others of the same classis, who had nothing ob-
jected to them but their loyalty, who were put into
the possession of their own estates. And all this
gave no occasion of murmur ; every man of what in-
terest soever believing, or pretending to believe, that
the king was obliged in honour, justice, and con-
science, to cause that right to be done to those who
had b served him faithfully.
a it] Omitted in MS. b had] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 25
There could be as little doubt, and there was as 1661.
little opposition visible, in the claim of the church : church_
so that the king made choice of many grave divines,
to whom he assigned bishoprics in Ireland, and sent new bishops
appointed.
them thither, to be consecrated by the bishops who
remained alive there according to the laws of that
kingdom ; and conferred the other dignities and
church-preferments upon worthy men, who were all
authorized to enter upon those lands, which belonged
to their several churches. And in this general zeal
for the church, some new grants were made of lands
and impropriations, which were not enough delibe-
rated, and gave afterwards great interruption to the
settlement of the kingdom, and brought envy upon
the church and churchmen, when the restoration to
what was their own was generally well approved.
The pretences of the adventurers and soldiers were
very much involved and perplexed : yet they gave
the king little other trouble, than the general care
and solicitude, that by an unseasonable disturbance
of their possessions there, the soldiers who had been
disbanded and those of the standing army (who for
the most part had the same ill affections) might not
unite together, and seize upon some places of defence,
before his affairs in that kingdom should be put in
such an order as to oppose them. And next that ap-
prehension, his majesty had no mind that any of
those soldiers, either who had been disbanded, and
put into possession of lands for the arrears of their
pay, and upon which they now lived ; or of the other,
the standing army, many whereof were likewise in
possession of lands assigned to them ; I say, the king
was not without apprehension, that the resort of ei-
ther of these into England might find too many of
26 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. their old friends and associates, ready to concur
with them in any desperate measures c, and for con-
trolling of which he was not d enough provided even
in this kingdom. But for their private and particular
interest, the king cared not much how it was com-
pounded, nor considered the danger if it were not
compounded. For besides the factions, divisions, and
animosities, which were between themselves, and
very great ; they could have no cause of complaint
against the king, who would take nothing from them
to which they had the least pretence of law or right.
And for their other demands, he would leave them
to litigate between themselves ; it being evident to
all men, that there must be some judicatory erected
by act of parliament, that only could examine and
put an end to all those pretences : the perusal e and
examination of which act of parliament, when the
same should be prepared, his majesty resolved that
all parties should have, and that he would hear their
particular exceptions to it, before he would transmit
it into Ireland to be passed.
That which gave the king the only trouble and so-
licitude, was the miserable condition of the Irish na-
tion, that was so near an extirpation ; the thought
whereof his majesty's heart abhorred. Nor can it
be denied, that either from the indignation he had
against those, in whose favour the other poor people
were miserably destroyed, or from his own natural
compassion and tenderness, and the just regard of
the merit of many of them who had served him with
The king fidelity, he had a very strong and princely inclination
inclined to J\ J , .
faTour the to do the best he could, without doing apparent in-
pretensions
of the Irish e measures] Omitted in MS. e the perusal] and the per
catholics. . - ., .J. ,,0 ,
d not] Not m MS. usal.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 27
justice, to preserve them in a tolerable condition of 1661.
subjects. This made him give them, who were most
concerned and solicitous on their behalf, liberty to re-
sort to his presence ; and hear f all they could allege
for themselves, in private or in public. And this in-
dulgence proved to their disadvantage, and exalted
them so much, that when they were heard in public
at the board, they behaved themselves with less mo-
desty towards their adversaries, who stood upon the
advantage-ground, and with less reverence in the
presence of the king, than the truth of their con-
dition and any ordinary discretion would have re-
quired. And their disadvantage was the greater,
because they who spake publicly on their behalf, and
were very well qualified to speak, and left nothing
for the matter unsaid that was for their purpose,
were men, who from the beginning to the end of the
rebellion, had behaved themselves eminently ill to-
wards the king. And they of their adversaries who
spake against them, had great knowledge and expe-
rience of all that had passed on either side, and
knew how to press it home when it was seasonable.
They of the Irish, who were all united under the The pica of
name of the confederate catholics of Ireland, ma
their first approach wisely for compassion ; and
urged " their great and long sufferings ; the loss of
" their estates for five or six and twenty years ; the
" wasting and spending of the whole nation in bat-
" ties, and transportation of vast multitudes of men
" into the parts beyond the seas, whereof many had
" the honour to testify their fidelity to the king by
" real services, and many of them returned into Eng-
f and hear] and to hear
28 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. " land with him, and were still in his service; the
" great numbers of men, women, and children, that
" had been massacred and executed in cold blood,
" after the king's government had been driven from
" thence ; the multitudes that had been destroyed
" by famine and the plague, those two heavy judg-
" ments having raged over the kingdom for two or
" three years ; and at last, as a persecution unheard
" of, the transplanting the small remainder of the na-
" tion into one corner of the province ofConnaught,
" where yet much of the lands was taken from them.
" which had been assigned with all those formalities
" of law, which were in use, and practised under that
" government."
2. They demanded " the benefit of two treaties of
" peace, the one in the late king's time and con-
" firmed by him, the other confirmed by his majesty
" who was present ; by both which," they said, " they
** stood indemnified for all acts done by them in the
" rebellion ; and insisted upon their innocence since
" that time, and that they had paid so entire an
" obedience to his majesty's commands whilst he
" was beyond the seas, that they betook themselves
" to, and withdrew themselves from, the service of
" France or Spain, in such manner as his majesty
" signified his pleasure what they should do." And
if they had ended here, they would have done wisely.
But whether it was the observation they made, that
what they had said made impression upon his ma-
jesty and many of the lords ; or whether it was their
evil genius that naturally transported them to ac-
tions of strange sottishness and indiscretion ; they
urged and enforced, with more liberty than became
them in that conjuncture, "the unworthiness and
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 29
" incapacity of those, who for so many years had 1661,
" possessed themselves of their estates, and sought
" now a confirmation of their rebellious title from
" his majesty."
3. " That their rebellion had been more infamous
" and of a greater magnitude than that of the Irish,
" who had risen in arms to free themselves from
" the rigour and severity that was exercised upon
" them by some of the king's ministers, and for the
" liberty of their conscience and practice of their re-
" ligion, without having the least intention or thought
" of withdrawing themselves from his majesty's obe-
" dience, or declining his government : whereas the
" others had carried on an odious rebellion against
" the king's sacred person, whom they had horridly
" murdered in the sight of the sun, with all imagin-
" able circumstances of contempt and defiance, and
" as much as in them lay had rooted out monarchy
" itself, and overturned and destroyed the whole go-
" vernment of church and state : and therefore that
" whatever punishment the poor Irish had deserved
" for their former transgressions, which they had so
" long repented of, and departed from the rebellion
" when they had armies and strong towns in their
" hands, which they, together with themselves, had
" put again under his majesty's protection ; this part &
" of the English, who were possessed of their estates,
" had broken all their obligations to God and the
" king, and so could not merit to be gratified with
" their ruin and total destruction. That it was too
" evident and notorious to the world, that his ma-
" jesty's three kingdoms had been very faulty to
8 this part] whereas this part
30 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
" him, and withdrawn themselves from his govern-
" ment ; by which he had been compelled to live in
" exile so many years : and yet, that upon their re-
" turn to their duty and obedience, he had been gra-
" ciously pleased to grant a free and general pardon
" and act of indemnity in which many were com-
" prehended, who in truth had been the contrivers
" and fomenters of all the misery and desolation,
" which had involved the three nations for so many
" years. And therefore that they hoped, that when
" all his majesty's other subjects (as criminal at
" least as they were) were, by his majesty's cle-
" mency, restored to their own estates which they
" had forfeited, and were in full peace, mirth, and
"joy; the poor Irish alone should not be totally
" exempt from all his majesty's grace, and left in
" tears and mourning and lamentation, and be sa-
" crificed without redemption to the avarice and
" cruelty of those, who had not only spoiled and
" oppressed them, but had done all that was in their
" power, and with all the insolence imaginable, to
" destroy the king himself and his posterity, and
" who now returned to their obedience, and sub-
" mitted h to his government, when they were no
" longer able to oppose it. Nor did they yet re-
" turn to it with that alacrity and joy and resigna-
" tion as the Irish did, but insisted obstinately upon
" demands unreasonable, and which they hoped could
" not consist with his majesty's honour to grant :"
and so concluded with those pathetical applications
and appeals to the king, as men well versed in dis-
courses of that nature are accustomed to.
h submitted] had submitted
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 31
This discourse, carried on and urged with more 1661.
passion, vehemence, and indiscretion, than was suit-"
able to the condition they were in, and in which, by
the excesses of their rhetoric, they had let fall many
expressions very indecent and unwarrantable, and in
some of them confidently excused if not justified their
first entrance into rebellion, (the most barbarous cer-
tainly and inexcusable, that any Christians have been
engaged in in any age,) irreconciled many to them
who had compassion enough for them, and made it
impossible for the king to restrain their adversaries,
who were prepared to answer all they had said, from
using the same licence. They enlarged " upon all The answer
of the ad-
' venturers.
" the odious circumstances of the first year's rebel- ?ft
" lion, the murdering of above a hundred thousand
" persons in cold blood, and with all the barbarity
" imaginable ; which murders and barbarities had
" been always excepted from pardon." And they
told them, "that if there were not some amongst
" themselves who then appeared before his majesty,
" they were sure there would be found many
" amongst those for whom they appeared, who
" would be found guilty of those odious crimes,
" which were excluded from any benefit by those
" treaties." They took notice, " how confidently
" they had extolled their own innocence from the
" time that those two acts of pacification had passed,
" and their great affection for his majesty's service."
And thereupon they declared, " that whatsoever le-
" gal title the adventurers had to the lands of which
" they were possessed, many of whom had constantly
" served the king ; yet they would be contented,
" that all those, who in truth had preserved their
" integrity towards his majesty from the time of
32 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. " either if not of both the pacifications, and not
""" swerved afterwards from their allegiance, should
" partake of his royal bounty, in such a manner and
" to such a degree, as his majesty thought fit to
" exercise towards them. But," they said, " they
" would make it appear, that their pretences to that
" grace and favour were not founded upon any rea-
" sonable title ; that they had never consented to
" any one act of pacification, to which the promise
" of indemnity had been annexed, which they had
" not violated and broken within ten days after, and
" then returned to all the acts of disloyalty and re-
" bellion.
" That after the first act of pacification ratified
" by the last king, in very few days ', they treated
" the herald, his majesty's officer, who came to pro-
" claim that peace, with all manner of indignity,
" tearing his coat of arms (the king's arms) from
" his back ; and beat and wounded him so, that he
" was hardly rescued from the loss of his life. That
" about the same time they endeavoured to surprise
" and murder the lord lieutenant, and pursued him
" to Dublin, which they forthwith besieged with
" their army, under the command of that general
" who had signed the peace. They imprisoned their
" commissioners who were authorized by them, for
" consenting to those articles which themselves had
" confirmed, and so prosecuted the war with as much
*' asperity as ever ; and refused to give that aid and
" assistance they were obliged to, for the recovery
" and restoration of his late majesty ; the promise
" and expectation of which supply and assistance,
1 in very few days] in very few days after
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. S3
" was the sole ground and consideration of that 1661.
" treaty, and of the concessions therein made to
" them. That they thereupon more formally re-
" nounced their obedience to the king, and put
" themselves under the protection and disposal of
" Rinuccini, the pope's nuncio, whom they made
" their generalissimo of all their armies, their ad-
" miral at sea, and to preside in all their councils.
" After their divisions amongst themselves, and the
" burden of the tyranny they suffered under, had
" disposed them to petition his majesty that now is,
" who was then in France, to receive them into his
" protection, and to send the marquis of Ormond
'' over again into Ireland to command them, his
" majesty k was so far prevailed with, that l he sent
" the marquis of Ormond into Munster, with such
" a supply of arms and ammunition as he could get ;
" where the lord Inchiquin, lord president of that
" province, received him with the protestant army
" and joined with him : and shortly after, the con-
" federate Irish made that second treaty of pacifica-
" tion, of which they now demanded the benefit.
" But™ it was notoriously known, that they no sooner
" made that treaty than they brake it, in not bring-
" ing in those supplies of men and money, which
" they ought and were obliged to do ; the want n
" whereof exposed the lord lieutenant to many diffi-
" culties, and was in truth the cause of the misfor-
" tune before Dublin : which he had no sooner un-
" dergone, than they withdrew from taking any fur-
" tlier care of the kingdom, and0 raised scandals upon
k his majesty] and his ma- m But] But that
jesty n the want] and the want
1 that] as that ° and] Omitted in MS.
VOL. II. D
34 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
16(11. " and jealousies of the whole body of the English,
~ " who, being so provoked, could no longer venture
" themselves in any action or conjunction with the
" Irish, without more apprehension of them than of
" the common enemy.
" Instead of endeavouring to compose these jea-
" lousies and ill humours, they caused an assembly
" or convention of their clergy to meet without the
" lord lieutenant's authority, and put the govern-
" ment of all things into their hands : who, in a
" short time, improved the jealousies in the mind of
" the people towards the few protestants who yet
" remained in the army, and who had served the
" king with all imaginable courage and fidelity from
*' the very first hour of the rebellion, to that degree,
" that the marquis was even compelled to discharge
" his own troop of guards of horse, consisting of such
" officers and gentlemen as are mentioned before,
" and to trust himself and all the remaining towns
" and garrisons to the fidelity of the Irish ; they
" protesting with much solemnity, that upon such a
" confidence, the whole nation would be united as
" one man to his majesty's service, under his com-
" mand. But they had no sooner received satisfac-
" tion in that particular, (which was not in the mar-
" quis's power to refuse to give them,) but they
" raised several calumnies against his person, de-
" claimed against his religion, and inhibited the
" people, upon pain of excommunication, to submit
" to this and that order that was issued out by the
" marquis, without obeying whereof the army could
" not stay together ; and upon the matter forbade
" the people to pay any obedience to him. Instead
" of raising new forces according to their last pro-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 35
" mise and engagement, those that were raised ran 1661,
" from their colours and dispersed themselves; they
" who were trusted with the keeping of towns and
" forts, either gave them up by treachery to Crom-
" well, or lost them through cowardice to him upon
" very feeble attacks : and their general, Owen
" O'Neile, made a formal contract and stipulation
" with the parliament. And in the end, when they
" had divested the lord lieutenant of all power to
" oppose the enemy, and given him great cause to
" believe that his person was in danger to be be-
" trayed, and delivered up to the enemy, they vouch-
" safed to petition him that he would depart out of
" the kingdom, (to the necessity whereof they had
" even already compelled him,) and that he would
" leave his majesty's authority in the hands of one
" of his catholic subjects, to whom they promised to
" submit with the most punctual obedience.
" Hereupon the marquis, when he found that he
" could not unite them in any one action worthy
" the duty of good subjects, or of prudent men, to-
" wards their own preservation ; and so, that his
" residence amongst them longer could in no degree
" contribute to his majesty's service or honour ; and
" that they would make it to be believed, that if
'* he would have committed the command into the
" hands of a Roman catholic, they would have been
" able to preserve those towns which still remained
" in their possession, which were Limerick and Gal-
" way, and some other places of importance enough,
" though of less than those cities ; and that they
" would likewise by degrees recover from the enemy
" what had been lost, which indeed was very pos-
" sible for them to have done, since they had great
D 2
36 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. " bodies of men to perform any enterprise, and some
~~ " good officers to lead them, if they would have been
" obedient to any command : hereupon the marquis
" resolved to gratify them, and to place the com-
" mand in the hands of such a person, whose zeal
" for the catholic religion was unquestionable, and
" whose fidelity to the king was P unblemished. And
" so he made choice of the marquis of Clanrickard,
" a gentleman, though originally of English extrac-
" tion, whose family had for so many hundred years
" resided in that kingdom, that he was looked upon
" as being of the best family of the Irish ; and whose
" family had, in all former rebellions, as well as in
" this last, preserved its loyalty to the crown not
" only unspotted, but eminently conspicuous.
" The Roman catholics of all kinds pretended at
" least a wonderful satisfaction and joy in this elec-
" tion ; acknowledged it as a great obligation upon
" them and their posterity to the lord lieutenant, for
" making so worthy a choice ; and applied them-
" selves to the marquis of Clanrickard with all the
" protestations of duty and submission, to induce
" him to accept the charge and command over
" them ; who indeed knew them too well to be will-
" ing to trust them, or to have any thing to do with
" them. Yet upon the marquis of Ormond's earnest
" and solemn entreaty, as the last and only remedy
" to keep and retain some remainder of hope, from
" whence future hopes might grow ; whereas all
" other thoughts were desperate, and the kingdom
" would presently fall into the hands and possession
" of the English, who would extirpate the whole
P was] as
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 37
"nation: this importunity, and his great zeal for 1661.
" the service of the crown, and to support the go-""
" vernment there until his majesty should procure
" other supplies, which the marquis of Ormond pro-
" mised to solicit in France, or till his majesty should
" send better orders to preserve his authority in that
" kingdom, (the hope of which seemed the less des-
" perate, because they had notice at the same time
" of his majesty's march into England, with an army
" from Scotland,) prevailed with him so, that he was
" contented to receive such commissions from the
" lord lieutenant, as were necessary for the execu-
" tion of the present command. Upon which the
" lord lieutenant embarked himself, with some few
" friends and servants, upon a little rotten pink that
" was bound for France, and very ill accommodated
" for such a voyage ; being not to be persuaded to
" send to the commander in chief of the English for
" a pass, though he was assured that it would very
" readily have been granted : but it pleased- God
" that he arrived safely in France, a little before or
" about the time that the king transported himself
" thither, after his miraculous escape from Wor-
" cester.
" The marquis of Ormond was no sooner gone
" out of Ireland, but the lord marquis of Clanrick-
" ard, then lord deputy, found himself no better
" treated than the lord of Ormond had been. That
" part of the clergy, which had continually opposed
" the lord lieutenant for being a protestant, were
" now as little satisfied with the deputy's religion,
" and as violently contradicted all his commands
" and desires, and violated all their own promises,
" and quickly made it evident, that his affection
D 3
38 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. " and loyalty to the king was that which they dis-
~~" liked, and a crime that could not be balanced by
" the undoubted sincerity of his religion. They en-
" tered into secret correspondence with the enemy,
" arid conspiracies between themselves : and though
" there were some persons of honour and quality
" with the deputy, who were very faithful to him
" and to the king ; yet there were so many of an-
" other allay, that all his counsels, resolutions,
" and designs, were discovered to the enemy soon
" enough to be prevented. And though some of the
" letters were intercepted, and the persons dis-
" covered who gave the intelligence, he had not
" power to bring them to justice ; but being com-
" monly friars and clergymen, the privilege of the
" church was insisted upon, and so they were res-
" cued from the secular prosecution till their escape
" was contrived. That perfidious and treacherous
" party had so great an interest in all the towns,.
" forts, and garrisons, which yet pretended to be
" subject to the deputy, that all his orders were
" still contradicted or neglected : and the enemy no
" sooner appeared before any place, but some fac-
" tion in the town caused it to be given up and ren-
" dered.
" Nor could this fatal sottishness be reformed,
" even by the severity and rigour which the Eng-
" lish exercised upon them, who, by the wonderful
" judgment of God Almighty, always put those men
" to death, who put themselves and those towns
" into their hands ; finding still that they had some
" barbarous part in the foul murders, which had
" been committed in the beginning of the rebellion,
" and who had been, by all the acts of grace granted
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 39
" by the several powers, still reserved for justice. 1661,
" And of this kind there would be so many in-~"~
" stances in and about Limerick and Gal way, that
" they deserve to be collected and mentioned in a
" discourse by itself, to observe and magnify the
" wonderful providence of God Almighty in bring-
" ing heinous crimes to light and punishment in this
" world, by means unapprehended by the guilty ;
" insomuch as it can hardly be believed, how many
" of the clergy and the laity, who had a signal hand
" in the contriving and fomenting the first rebellion,
" and in the perpetration of those horrible mur-
"ders; and who had obstructed all overtures to-
" ward peace, and principally caused any peace
"- that was made to be presently broken ; who had
" with most passion adhered to the nuncio, and en-
" deavoured most maliciously to exclude the king
" and his posterity from the dominion of Ireland ;
" I say, it can hardly be believed, how many of
" these most notorious transgressors did by some act
" of treachery endeavour to merit from the English
"rebels, and so put themselves into their hands, and
" were by them publicly and reproachfully executed
" and put to death. »
" This being the sad condition the deputy was in,
" and the Irish having, without his leave and against
" his express command, taken upon them to send
" riiessengers into Flanders, to desire the duke of
" Lorrain to take them into his protection, and of-
" fered to deliver several important places and sea-
" towns into his possession, and to become his sub-
jects, (upon which the duke sent over an ambas-
" sador, and a good sum of money for their present
" relief,) the deputy was in a short time reduced to
D 4
40 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. " those straits, that he durst not remain in any
~~" town, nor even in his own house three days to-
" gether, but was forced for his safety to shift from
" place to place, and sometimes to lodge in the
*' woods and fields in cold and wet nights ; by which
" he contracted those infirmities and diseases, which
" shortly after brought him to his grave. And in
" the end, he was compelled to accept a pass from
" the English, who had a reverence for his person
" and his unspotted reputation, to transport himself
" into England, where his wife and family were ;
" and where he died before he could procure means
" to carry himself to the king, which he always in-
" tended to do."
When the commissioners had enlarged with some
commotion in this narration and discourse, they
again provoked the Irish commissioners to nominate
" one person amongst themselves, or of those for
" whom they appeared, who they believed could in
" justice demand his majesty's favour ; and if they
" did not make it evidently appear, that he had for-
" feited all his title to pardon after the treaties, and
" that he had been again as faulty to the king as
" before, they were very willing he should be re-
" stored to his estate." And then applying them-
selves to his majesty with great duty and submis-
sion, they concluded, " that if any persons had,, by
" their subsequent loyalty ^ or service, or by their
" attendance upon his majesty beyond the seas, ren-
" dered themselves grateful to him, and worthy of
" his royal favour, they were very willing that his
" majesty should restore all or any of them to their
i loyalty] Omitted in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 41
" honours or estates, in such manner as his majesty 1661.
" thought fit, and against all impediments whatso-"""
" ever." And upon this frank offer of theirs, which Many ca-
his majesty took very well, several acts of parlia- had served
ment were presently passed, for the indemnity
the restoring many persons of honour and interest *tt
to their estates ; who could either in justice require
it, as having been faithful always to the king, and
suffered with him or for him ; or who had so far
manifested their affection and duty for his majesty,
that he thought fit, in that consideration, to wipe
out the memory of whatsoever had been formerly
done amiss. And by this means, many were put
into a full possession of their estates, to which they
could make any good pretence at the time when the
rebellion began.
This consideration and debate upon the settle-
ment of this unhappy kingdom took up many days,
the king being always present, in which there arose
every day new difficulties. And it appeared plainly
enough, that the guilt was so general, that if the
letter of the act of parliament of the seventeenth
year of the late king were strictly pursued, as pos-
sibly it might have been, if the reduction had fallen
out likewise during the whole reign of that king,
even an utter extirpation of the nation would have
followed.
There were three particulars, which, upon the Three, par-
_ . . . ,, , . . ticulars in
first mention and view or them, seemed in most this affair
men's eyes worthy of his majesty's extraordinary ^essthe'*"
compassion and interposition; and yet upon akmg-
stricter examination were found as remediless as
any of the rest. One was; " the condition of that i. The
. i i • i i«i« tran»plan-
" miserable people, which was likewise very nu- tation of
42 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. " merous, that was transplanted into Connaught;
the Irish " who had been removed from their own possessions
nlught.0 " in other provinces, with such circumstances of ty-
" ranny and cruelty, that their own consents ob-
" tained afterwards with that force could not rea-
" sonably be thought any confirmation of their un-
" just title, who were in possession of their lands."
Thse adven- TO this it was answered, '* that though it was
turers' de- f °
fence of " acted in an irregular manner, and without lawful
this mea- ...... . „ .
sure. " authority, it being in a time ot usurpation ; yet
" that the act itself was very prudent and necessary,
" and an act of mercy, without which an utter ex-
" tirpation .of the nation must have followed, if the
" kingdom were to be preserved in peace. That it
" cannot be denied to be an act of mercy, since
" there was not one man transplanted, who had
" not by the law forfeited all the estate he had ;
" and his life might have been as legally taken from
" him : so that both his life, and whatever estate he
" had granted to him in Connaught, was from the
" pure bounty of the state, which might and did by
" the act of parliament seize upon the same. That,
" beside the unsteady humour of that people, and
" their natural inclination to rebel, it was notorious,
" that whilst they were dispersed over the kingdom,
" though all their forces had been so totally sub-
" dued, that there was not throughout the whole
" " kingdom a visible number of twenty men together,
" who pretended to be in arms ; yet there were
" daily such disorders committed by thefts and rob-
" beries and murders, that they could not be said to
" be in peace. Nor could the English, man, woman,
" or child, go one mile from their habitations upon
" their necessary employment, but they were found
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 43
" murdered and stripped by the Irish, who lay in 1G61,
" wait for those purposes ; so that the people were ~~
" very hardly restrained from committing a inas-
'* sacre upon them wherever they were met : so that
" there appeared no other way to prevent an utter
" extirpation of them, but to confine and restrain
" them within such limits and bounds, that might
" keep them from doing mischief, and thereby make
" them safe. That thereupon this expedient was laid
" hold of. And whereas they had nothing to en-
" able them to live upon in the places where they
" were dispersed, they had now by this transplan-
" tation into Connaught lands given them, sufficient
" with their industry to live well upon ; of which
" there was good evidence, by their having lived
" well there since that time, and many of them
" much better than they had ever done before. And
" the state, which had done this grace for them, had
" great reason, when it gave them good titles to. the
" land assigned to them, which they might plead in
" any court of justice, to require from them releases
" of what they had forfeited ; which, though to the
" public of no use or validity, were of benefit and
" behooveful to many particular persons, for the
" quieting their possessions against frivolous suits
" and claims which 'might start up. That this trans-
" plantation had been acted, finished, and submitted
" to by all parties, who had enjoyed the benefit
" thereof, quietly and without disturbance, many
" years before the king's return : and the soldiers
" and adventurers had been likewise so many years
" in the possession of their lots, in pursuance of the
" act of parliament, and had laid out so much inoney
" in building and planting, that the consequence of
44 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. « such an alteration as was now proposed would be
" the highest confusion imaginable."
And it cannot be denied, that if the king could
have thought it safe and seasonable to have re-
viewed all that had been done, and taken those ad-
vantages upon former miscarriages and misapplica-
tions, as according to the strictness of that very law
he might have done ; the whole foundation, upon
which all the hopes rested of preserving that king-
dom within the obedience to the crown of England,
must have been shaken and even dissolved; with
no small influence and impression upon the peace
and quiet of England itself. For the memory of
the beginning of the rebellion in Ireland (feow many
other rebellions soever had followed as bad, or worse
in respect of the consequences that attended them)
was as fresh and as odious to the whole people of
England, as it had been the first year. And though
no man durst avow so unchristian a wish, as an ex-
tirpation of them, (which they would have been very
well contented with;) yet no man dissembled his
opinion, that it was the only security the English
could have in that kingdom, that the Irish should
be kept so low, that they should have no power to
hurt them,
s. The case Another particular, that seemed more against the
of entails
and settle- foundation of justice, was ; " that the soldiers and
law" S " adventurers expected and promised themselves,
" that in this new settlement that was under de-
" bate, all entails and settlements at law should be
" destroyed, whether upon consideration of mar-
" riage, or any other contracts which had been
" made before the rebellion. Nor had there been
" in the whole former proceedings in the time of
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 45
" the usurpation, any consideration taken of mort- 1661.
" gages °r debts due by statute or recognizance, or
" upon any other security ; so that all such debts
" must be either lost to the proprietors, or remain
" still with the interest upon the land, whoever had
" enjoyed the benefit or profits thereof." All which
seemed to his majesty very unreasonable and un-
just ; and that such estates should remain forfeited
by the treason of the father, who had been only te-
nant for life, against all descents and legal titles of
innocent children ; and of which, in all legal at-
tainders, the crown never had or could receive any
benefit.
Yet, how unreasonable soever these pretences
seemed to be, it was no easy matter to give rules
and directions for the remedy of the mischief, with-
out introducing another mischief equally unjust and
unreasonable. For the commissioners declared, " that The adven-
" if such titles, as are mentioned, were preserved swer.
" and allowed to be good, there would not in that
" universal guilt, which upon the matter compre-
" hended and covered the whole Irish nation, be
" one estate forfeited by treason, but such convey-
" ances and settlements would be produced to se-
" cure and defend the same : and though they
** would be forged, there would not be witnesses
" wanting to prove and justify whatsoever the evi-
" dence could be applied to. And if those trials
" were to be by the known rules and customs of the
" law in cases of the like nature, there was too much
" reason to suspect and fear that there would be
" little justice done : since a jury of Irish would in-
" fallibly find against the English, let the evidence
" be what it could be ; and there was too much rea-
46 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. " son to apprehend that the English, whose animo-
" sity was not less, would be as unjust in bringing
" in their verdict against the Irish, right or wrong."
And there was experience afterwards, in the prose-
cution of this affair, of such forgeries and perjuries,
as have not been heard of amongst Christians ; and
in which, to our shame, the English were not be-
hindhand with the Irish. The king however thought
it not reasonable or just for him, upon what proba-
ble suggestions soever, to countenance such a bare-
faced violation of the law, by any declaration of his ;
but commanded his council at law to make such
alterations in the expressions as might be fit for him
to consent to.
s. The ex- The third particular, and which much affected
ser™o/the the king, was ; " that in this universal joy for his
((
restoration without blood, and with the indemnity
" of so many hundred thousands who had deserved
" to suffer the utmost punishments, the poor Irish,
" after so long sufferings in the greatest extremity
" of misery, should be the only persons who should
" find no benefit or ease by his majesty's restoration,
" but remain robbed and spoiled of all they had.,
" and be as it were again sacrificed to the avarice
" and cruelty of them, who had not deserved better
" of his majesty than the other poor people had
" done."
To which there can be no other answer made,
which is very sufficient in point of justice, but that,
Answer to « as their rebellion and other crimes had been long
this plea.
" before his majesty's time, so full vengeance had
" been executed upon them ; and they had paid the
" penalties of their crimes and transgressions before
" his majesty's return ; so that he could not restore
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 47
" that which they called their own, without taking 1661,
" it from them, who were become the just owners"
" by an act of parliament ; which his majesty could
" not violate without injustice, and breach of the
" faith he had given."
And that which was their greatest misery and
reproach, and which distinguished them from the
subjects of the other, two kingdoms, who were other-
wise bad enough, was ; that both the other nations
had made many noble attempts for redeeming their
liberty, and for the restoration of his majesty, (for
Scotland itself had done much towards it ;) and his
present restoration was, with God's blessing, and
only with his blessing, by the sole effects of the cou-
rage and affection of his own subjects : so that Eng-
land and Scotland had in a great degree redeemed,
and even undone what had been before done amiss
by them ; and his majesty had improved and se-
cured those affections to him by those promises and
concessions, which he was in justice obliged to per-
form. But the miserable Irish alone had no part in
contributing to his majesty's happiness ; nor had
God suffered them to be the least instruments in
bringing his good pleasure to pass, or to give any
testimony of their repentance for the wickedness
they had wrought, or of their resolution to be better
subjects for the future : so that they seemed as a
people left out by Providence, and exempted from ,
any benefit from that blessed conjuncture in his ma-
jesty's restitution.
And this disadvantage was improved towards
them, by their frequent manifestation of an inve-
terate animosity against the English nation and
English government ; which again was returned to
48 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. them in an irreconcileable jealousy of all the Eng-
"""lish towards them. And to this their present be-
haviour and imprudence contributed very much : for
it appeared evidently, that they expected the same
concessions (which the necessity of that time had
made fit to be granted to them) in respect of their
religion should be now likewise' confirmed. And
this temper made it very necessary for the king to
be very wary in dispensing extraordinary favours
(which his natural merciful inclination prompted
him to) to the Irish ; and to prefer the general in-
terest of his three kingdoms, before the particular
interest of a company of unhappy men, who had
foolishly forfeited their own ; though he pitied them,
and hoped in the conclusion to be able, without ex-
posing the public peace to manifest hazard, in some
degree to improve their condition.
Upon the whole matter, the king found, that if
he deferred to settle the government of Ireland till
a perfect settlement of all particular interests could
be made, it would be very long. He saw it could
not be done at once ; and that there must be some
examinations taken there, and some matters more
clearly stated and adjusted, before his majesty could
make his determination upon those particulars, which
purely depended upon his own judgment ; and that
some difficulties would be removed or lessened by
The first time : and so he passed that which is called the first
tinmen?1 ac^ °f settlement ; and was persuaded to commit the
passed. execution thereof to a great number of commission-
ers, recommended to his majesty by those who were
most conversant in the affairs of Ireland; none or
very few of which were known to his majesty, or to
any of those who had been so many years from their
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 49
country, in their constant attendance upon his ma- 1661.
jesty's person beyond the seas.
And for the better countenance of this commis-
sion, and likewise to restrain the commissioners from
any excess, if their very large jurisdiction should
prove a temptation to them, the king thought fit to
commit the sword to three justices, which he had Three lords
_. i-ii-ni t justices up-
resolved when the sending the lord Roberts was de- pointed.
clined. Those three were, sir Morrice Eustace,
whom he newly made lord chancellor of Ireland,
the lord Broghill, whom he now made earl of Or-
rery, and sir Charles Coote, whom he likewise made
earl of Montrath. The first had been his sergeant
nt law long in that kingdom, and had been eminent
in the profession of the law, and the more esteemed
for being always a protestant, though an Irishman,
and of approved fidelity to the king during this
whole rebellion. But he was now old, and made so
little show of any parts extraordinary, that, but for
the testimony that was given of him, it might have
been doubted whether he ever had any. The other
two had been both eminently against the king, but
upon this turn, when all other powers were down,
eminently for him ; the one, very able and gene-
rous; the other, proud, dull, and very avaricious.
But the king had not then power to choose any,
against whom some as material objections might not
be made, and who had been able to do as much
good. With them, there were too many others
upon whom honours were conferred ; upon some,
that they might do no harm, who were thereby
enabled to do the more ; and upon others, that they
might not murmur, who murmured the more for
having nothing given them but honour : and so they
VOL. II. E
50 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. were all despatched for Ireland ; by which the king
"had some ease, his service little advancement.
After a year was spent in the execution of this
commission, (for I shall, without discontinuing the
relation, say all that I intend upon this subject of
Ireland,) there was very little done towards the set-
tling the kingdom, or towards preparing any thing
partiality that might settle it ; but on the contrary, the
of the com- , . 1*1 i i •
breaches were made wider, and so much passion
and injustice shewed, that complaints were brought
act- to his majesty from all parts of the kingdom, and
from all persons in authority there. The number
of the commissioners was so great, and their in-
terests so different, that they made no despatch.
Very many of them were in possession of those
lands, which others sued for before them ; and they
themselves bought broken titles and pretences of
other men, for inconsiderable sums of money, which
they supported and made good by their own author-
ity. Such of the commissioners, who had their own
particular interest and concernment depending, at-
tended the service very diligently : the few who were
more equal and just, because they had no interest of
their own at stake, were weary of their attendance
and expense, (there being no allowance for their
pains;) and, offended at the partiality and injustice
which they saw practised, withdrew themselves, and
would be no longer present at those transactions
which they could not regulate or reform.
All interests were equally offended and incensed ;
and the soldiers and adventurers complained no less
of the coiTuption and injustice than the Irish did :
so that the lords justices and council thought it ne-
cessary to transmit another bill to his majesty, which,
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 51
as I remember, they called an explanatory bill of the iGGi.
former ; and in that they provided, " that no person Second act
" who lived in Ireland, or had any pretence to an of se"le*
inent trans-
" estate there, should be employed as a commissioner- mitted to
f i , . 'the king.
" but that his majesty should be desired to send over
" a competent number of well qualified persons out
" of England to attend that service, upon whom a
** fit salary should be settled by the bill ; and such
" rules set down as might direct and govern the
" manner of their proceeding; and that an oath
" might be prescribed by the bill, which the commis-
" sioners should take, for the impartial administration
" of justice, and for the prosecution and execution of
" this bill," which was transmitted as an act by the
king. His majesty made choice of seven gentlemen New com-
_ . . . missioners
or very clear reputations ; one of them being an emi- appointed
nent sergeant at law, whom he made a judge uponitoe:
his return from thence ; two others, lawyers of very
much esteem ; and the other four, gentlemen of very
good extractions, excellent understandings, and above
all suspicion for their integrity, and generally reputed
to be superior to any base temptation.
But this second bill, before it could be transmitted,
took up as much time as the former. The same nu-
merous retinue of all interests from Ireland attended
the king; and all that had been said in the former The diffe-
debates was again repeated, and almost with the ag
same passion and impertinence. The Irish made JfnJ;.he
large observations upon the proceedings of the late
commissioners, to justify those fears and apprehen-
sions which they had formerly urged : and there ap-
peared too much reason to believe, that their greatest
design now was, rather to keep off any settlement,
than that they hoped to procure such a one as they
E 2
52 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. desired; relying more to find their account from a
""general dissatisfaction, and the distraction and con-
fusion that was like to attend it, than from any de-
termination that was like to be in their favour. Yet
they had friends in the court, who made them great
promises; which they could not be without, since
they made as great promises to those who were to
protect them. There were indeed many particular
men both of the soldiers and adventurers, who in re-
spect of their many notorious and opprobrious actions
against the crown throughout their whole employ-
ment, (and who even since his majesty's return had
enough expressed how little they were satisfied with
the revolution,) were so universally odious both in
England and Ireland, that if their particular cases
could have been severed from the rest, without vio-
lation of the rule of justice that secured all the rest,
any thing that could have been done to their detri-
ment would have been grateful enough to every
body.
After many xvery tedious debates, in which his ma-
jesty endeavoured by all the ways he could think of to
find some expedient, that would enable him to preserve
the miserable Irish from the extremity of misery ; he
found it necessary at last to acquiesce with a very
positive assurance from the earl of Orrery and others,
who were believed to understand Ireland very ex-
actly, and who, upon the surveys that had been taken
with great punctuality, undertook, " that there was
" land enough to satisfy all the soldiers and adven-
" turers, and that there would be a very great pro-
" portion left for the accommodation of the Irish very
" liberally." And for the better improvement of that
proportion, the king prescribed some rules and limit-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 53
ations to the immoderate pretences and demands of 1661.
the soldiers and adventurers upon the doubling ordi-
nance and imperfect admeasurement, and some other
irregularities, in r which his majesty was not in ho-
nour or justice obliged to comply with them : and Second act
so he transmitted this second bill.
Whilst this second bill was under deliberation, ed'
there fell out an accident in Ireland, which produced
great alterations with reference to the affairs of that
kingdom. The differences which had every day
arisen between the three justices, and their different
humours and affections, had little advanced the set-
tling that government; so that there would have
been a necessity of making some mutation in it : so
that the death of the earl of Montrath, which hap-
pened at this time, fell out conveniently enough to
the king ; for by it the government was again loose.
For the earl of Orrery was in England; and the
power resided not in less than two : so that the chan-
cellor, who remained single there, was without any
authority to act. And they who took the most dis-
passioned survey of all that had been done, and of
what remained to be done, did conclude that nothing
could reasonably produce a settlement there, but the
deputing one single person to exercise that govern-
ment. And the duke of Albemarle himself, who Ti.e duke of
had a great estate in that kingdom, which made him
the more long for a settlement, and who had before j
the king's return and ever since dissuaded the kingteDant-
from thinking of employing the duke of Ormond
there, who had himself aversion enough from that
command, of which he had sufficient experience ; I
r in] with
E 3
54 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. say, the general had now so totally changed his mind,
""that he plainly told the king, " that there was no way
" to explicate that kingdom out of those intricacies
" in which it was involved, but by sending over a
" lord lieutenant thither. That he thought it not fit
" for his majesty's service, that himself, who had
<<r that commission of lord lieutenant, should be ab-
" sent from his person ; and therefore that he was
" very ready and desirous to give up his commission :
" and that in his judgment nobody would be able to
" settle and compose the several factions in that king-
" dom, but the duke of Ormond, who he believed
"would be grateful to all sorts of people." And
therefore he advised his majesty very positively,
" that he would immediately give him the commis-
" sion, and as soon as should be possible send him
And the " away into Ireland." And both the king and the
mend ac- general spake with the duke of Ormond, and prevail-
cept* Jt> ed with him to accept it, before either of them com-
municated it to the chancellor, who the king well
knew would for many reasons, and out of his great
friendship to the duke, dissuade him from undertak-
ing it ; which was very true.
And the king and the duke of Ormond came one
day to the chancellor, to advise what was to be done
for Ireland ; and (concealing the resolution) the king
told him what the general's advice was, and asked
him " what he thought of sending the duke of Or-
" mond his lieutenant into Ireland." To which the
chancellor answered presently, " that the king would
" do very ill in sending him, and that the duke would
" do much worse, if he desired to go." Upon which
they both smiled, and told him, " that the general
" had prevailed with the king, and the king with the
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 55
" duke; so that the matter was resolved, and there 1661.
" remained nothing to be done but preparing the in- ~"
" structions, which he must think upon."
The chancellor could not refrain from saying very The
warmly, " that he was sorry for it ; and that it would
" be good for neither of them, that the duke should tc^ern at
*•' be from the king, or that he should be in Ireland,
" where he would be able to do no good. Besides
" that he had given himself so much to his ease and
" pleasure since he came into England, that he would
" never be able to take the pains, which that most
" laborious province would require." He said, " if
" this counsel had been taken when the king came
*' first over, it might have had good success, when
" the duke was full of reputation, and of unquestion-
" able interest in his majesty, and the king himself
" was more feared and reverenced than presumed
" upon : so that the duke would have had full au-
" thority to have restrained the exorbitant desires
" and expectations of all the several parties, who
" had all guilt enough upon their hearts to fear
" some rigour from the king, or to receive moderate
" grace with infinite submission and acknowledg-
" ment. But now the duke, besides his withdraw-
" ing himself from all business as much as he could,
" had let himself fall to familiarities with all de-
" grees of men ; and upon their averments had un-
" dertaken to protect, or at least to solicit men's in-
" terests, which it may be might not appear upon
" examination to be founded upon justice. And
" the king himself had been exposed to all manner
" of importunities, received all men's addresses, and
" heard all they would say ; made many promises
" without deliberation, and appeared so desirous to
E 4
56 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. " satisfy all men, that he was irresolute in all things.
"~ " And therefore till he had taken some firm and
" fixed resolutions himself, from which neither pre-
judice towards one man, nor pity and compassion
" on the behalf of another, should remove him ; the
" lieutenant of Ireland would be able to do him little
" service, and would be himself continually exposed
" to scorn and affronts." *>
And afterwards the chancellor expostulated warm-
ly with the duke of Ormond, (who well knew that
all his commotion proceeded from the integrity of
his unquestionable" friendship,) and told him, " that
" he would repent this rash resolution ; and that he
" would have been able to have contributed more to
" the settlement of Ireland, by being near the per-
" son of the king, than by being at Dublin, from
" whence in a short time there would be as many
" aspersions and reproaches sent hither, as had been
" against other men ; and that he had no reason to
" be confident, that they would not make as deep
" impression by the arts and industry of his ene-
" mies, of which he had store, and would have more
" by being absent, for the court naturally had little
" regard for any man who was absent. And that
" he carried with him the same infirmity into Ire-
" land with that of the king, which kept it from
" being settled here ; which was, an unwillingness
" to deny any man what he could not but see was
" impossible to grant, and a desire to please every
" body, which whosoever affected should please no-
" body."
The duke The duke, who never took any thing ill he said
acquaints .
the than- to him, told him, " that nobody knew better than
" he the aversion he had to that command, when it
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 57
"may be he might have undertaken it with more
" advantage." He confessed, " he saw many dangers ~ T
» for accept-
" with reference to himself, which he knew not how ine »*•
" to avoid, and many difficulties with reference to
" the public, which he had little hope to overcome ;
" yet Ireland must not be given over : and s since
" there seemed to be a general opinion, with which
" the king concurred, that he could be able to con-
" tribute to the composing the distempers, and the
" settling the government ; he would not suspect
" himself, but believe that he might be able to do
" somewhat towards it." And he gave his word to
him, " that nothing should be defective on his part
" in point of industry ; for he was resolved to take
" indefatigable pains for a year or two, in which he
" hoped the settlement would be completed, that he
" might have ease and recreation for the other part
" of his life." And he confessed, " that he did the
" more willingly enter upon that province, that he
" might have the opportunity to settle his own for-
" tune, which, how great soever in extent of lands,
" did not yet, by reason of the general unsettlement,
" yield him a quarter of the revenue it ought to do.
" That for what concerned himself, and the disad-
" vantages he might undergo by his absence, he re-
" ferred it to Providence and the king's good-na-
" ture ; who," he said, " knew him better than any
" of his enemies did ; and therefore, he hoped, he
" would believe himself before them." However,
the truth is, he was the more disposed to that
journey, by the dislike he had of the court, and
the necessary exercises which men there were to
s and] yet
58 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. excel in, for which he was superannuated: and if
he did not already discern any lessening of the king's
grace towards him, he saw enough to make him be-
lieve, that the contrary ought not to be depended
upon. And within few years after, he had cause to
remember what the chancellor had foretold him of
The duke both their fortunes. The duke (with the seven com-
and the
missioners who were appointed for that act of set-
tlement, and all other persons who attended that
interest) entered upon his journey from London
about the end of July, in the year one thousand six
hundred sixty and four, full four years and more
after the king's happy return into England.
It was some months after the commissioners' ar-
rival in Ireland, before they could settle those orders
and rules for their proceedings, which were neces-
sary to be done, before the people should be ap-
pointed to attend. And it was as necessary that
they should in the order of their judicatory first pro-
ceed upon the demands and pretences of the Irish ;
both because there could be no settlement of soldiers
or adventurers in possession of any lands, before the
titles of the Irish to those lands were determined ;
and because there was a clause in the last act of
parliament, that all the Irish should put in their
claims by a day appointed, and that they should be
determined before another day, which was likewise
assigned ; which days might be prolonged for once
by the lord lieutenant, upon such reasons as satisfied
him : so that the delay for so many months before
the commissioners sat, gave great argument of com-
plaint to the Irish, though it could not be avoided,
in regard that the commissioners themselves had not
been nominated by the king above twenty days be-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 59
fore they began their journey into Ireland; so that 1661.
they could never so much as read over the acts of""
parliament together, before they came to Dublin.
And then they found so many difficult clauses in
both acts of parliament, and so contrary to each
other, that it was no easy matter to determine how
to govern themselves in point of right, and to re-
duce themselves to any method in their proceed-
ings.
But after they had adjusted all things as well
mssoners
11 i i» i i • i i
they could, they published their orders in what me- publish
thod they meant to proceed, and appointed the Irish tendednine-
to put in their claims by such a day, and to attend proceeding.
the prosecution of them accordingly. And they had
no sooner entered upon their work, but the English
thought they had began it soon enough. For they
heard every day many of the Irish, who had been
known to have been the most forward in the first
beginning of the rebellion, and the most malicious
in the carrying it on, declared innocent ; and deeds
of, settlement and entails which had been never
heard of before, and which would have been pro-
duced (as might reasonably be believed) before the
former commissioners, if they had had them to pro-
duce, now declared to be good and valid ; by which
the Irish were immediately put into the possession
of a very great quantity of land taken from the
English : so that in a short time the commissioners
had rendered themselves as generally odious as the
Irish, and were looked upon as persons corrupted
for that interest, which had every day success al-
most in whatsoever they pretended. And their de-
terminations happened to have the more of preju-
dice upon them, because the commissioners were al-
60 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. ways divided in their judgments. And it is no won-
~~der, that they who seemed most to adhere to the
English interest were most esteemed by them.
The parliament in Ireland was then sitting : and
the house of commons, consisting of many members
who were either soldiers or adventurers, or had the
like interest, was very much offended at the pro-
ceedings of the commissioners, made many votes
against them, and threatened them with their au-
thority and jurisdiction. But the commissioners,
who knew their own power, and that there was no
appeal against their judgments, proceeded still in
their own method, and continued to receive the
claims of the Irish, beyond the time that the act of
parliament or the act of state limited to them, as
was generally understood. And during the last
eight or ten days sitting upon those claims, they
passed more judgments and determinations than in
near a year before, indeed with very wonderful ex-
pedition ; when the English, who were dispossessed
by those judgments, had not their witnesses ready,
upon a presumption, that in point of time it was
not possible for those causes to come to be heard.
Their de- By these sentences and decrees, many hundred
thousands of acres were adjudged to the Irish,
F the Insh> which had been looked upon as unquestionably for-
feited, and of which the English had been long in
possession accordingly.
TJiis raised so great a clamour, that the English
refused to yield possession upon the decrees of the
commissioners, who, by an omission in the act of
parliament, were not qualified with power enough
to provide for the execution of their own sentences.
The courts of law established in that kingdom would
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 61
not, nor indeed could, give any assistance to the 16GI.
commissioners. And the lord lieutenant and coun-~
cil, who had in the beginning, by their authority,
put many into the possession of the lands which had
been decreed to them by the commissioners, were
now more tender and reserved in that multitude of
decrees that had lately passed : so that the Irish
were using their utmost endeavours, by force to re-
cover the possession of those lands which the com-
missioners had decreed to them ; whilst the English
were likewise resolved by force to defend what they
had been so long possessed of, notwithstanding the
commissioners' determination. And the commis-
sioners were so far troubled and dissatisfied with
these proceedings, and with some intricate clauses
in the act of parliament concerning the future pro-
ceedings ; that, though they had not yet made any
entrance upon the decision of the claims of the Eng-
lish or of the Irish protestants, they declared, " that
" they would proceed no further in the execution of
" their commission, until they could receive his ma-
" jesty's further pleasure." And that they might
the more effectually receive it, they desired leave
from the king that they might attend his royal per-
son ; and there being at the same time several com-
plaints made against them to his majesty, and ap-
peals to him from their decrees, he gave the com-
missioners leave to return. And at the same time
all the other interests sent their deputies to solicit
their rights ; in the prosecution whereof, after much
time spent, the king thought fit likewise to receive
the advice and assistance of his lieutenant : and so
the duke of Ormond returned again to the court.
And the settlement of Ireland was the third timeThedif-
ferent par-
62 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. brought before the king and council; there being
ties heard tnen likewise transmitted a third bill, as additional
f-thiru .1 and supplemental to the other two. and to reverse
time by the
king. many of the decrees made by the commissioners,
they bearing the reproach of all that had been done
or had succeeded amiss, and from all persons who
were grieved in what kind soever.
The king was very tender of the reputation of
his commissioners, who had been always esteemed
men of great probity and unquestionable reputation :
and though he could not refuse to receive complaints,
yet he gave those who complained no further coun-
tenance, than to give the others opportunity to vin-
dicate themselves. Nor did there appear the least
evidence to question the sincerity of their proceed-
ing, or to make them liable to any reasonable sus-
picion of corruption : and the complaints were still
prosecuted by those, who had that taken from them
which they desired to keep for themselves.
Theau- The truth is, there is reason enough to believe,
flections on that upon the first arrival of the commissioners in
ceed?ngs of Ireland, and some conversation they had, and the
the com- observation they made of the great bitterness and
missioners. *
animosities from the English, both soldiers and ad-
venturers, towards the whole Irish nation of what
kind soever ; the scandalous proceeding of the late
commissioners upon the first act, when they had not
been guided by any rules of justice, but rejected l all
evidence, which might operate to the taking away
any thing from them which they resolved to keep,
the judges themselves being both parties and wit-
nesses in all the causes brought before them ; toge-
1 rejected] rejecting
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 63
ther with the very ill reputation very many of the 1661
soldiers and adventurers had for extraordinary ma-~
lice to the crown and to the royal family ; and the
notable barbarity they had exercised towards the
Irish, who without doubt for many years had un-
dergone the most cruel oppressions of all kind that
can be imagined, many thousands of them having
been forced, without being covered under any house,
to perish in the open fields for hunger; the infa-
mous purchases which had been made by many per-
sons, who had compelled the Irish to sell their re-
mainders and lawful pretences for very inconsider-
able sums of money ; I say, these and many other
particulars of this kind, together with some attempt
that had been made upon their first arrival, to cor-
rupt them against all pretences which should be
made by the Irish, might probably dispose the com-
missioners themselves to such a prejudice against
many of the English, and to such a compassion to-
wards the Irish, that they might be much inclined
to favour their pretences and claims ; and to believe
that the peace of the kingdom and his majesty's go-
vernment might be better provided for, by their
being settled in the lands of which they had been
formerly possessed, than by supporting the ill-gotten
titles of those, who had manifested all imaginable
infidelity and malice against his majesty whilst they
had any power to oppose him, and had not given
any testimony of their conversion, or of their resolu-
tion to yield him for the future a perfect and entire
obedience after they could oppose him no longer;
as if they desired only to retain those lands which
they had gotten by rebellion, together with the prin-
ciples by which they had gotten them, until they
64 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
lGfi-1. should have an opportunity to justify both by some
"new power, or a concurrence amongst themselves.
Whencesoever it proceeded, it was plain enough
the Irish had received more favour than was ex-
pected or imagined.
And in the very entrance into the work, to avoid
the partiality which was too apparent in the English
towards each other, and their animosity against the
Irish as evident, very strict rules had been set down
by the commissioners, what kind of evidence they
would admit to be good, and receive accordingly.
And it was provided, " that the evidence of no sol-
" dier or adventurer should be received in any case,
" to which himself was never so much a stranger ;"
- as, if his own lot had fallen in Munster, and he had
no pretence to any thing out of that province, his
evidence should not be received, as to any thing
that he had seen done in Leinster or Connaught or
Ulster, wherein he was not at all concerned : whrch
was generally thought to be a very unjust rule, after
so many years expired, and so many persons dead,
who had likewise been present at those actions. And
by this means many men were declared not to have
been in rebellion, when there might have been full
evidence, that 'they had been present in such and
such a battle, and in such and such a siege, if the
witnesses might have been received who were then
present .at those actions, and ready to give testi-
mony of it, and of such circumstances as could not
have been feigned, if their evidence might have been
received.
onheTrisb Tli3* which raised the greatest umbrage against
rebel* re- the commissioners was, that a great number of the
stored to T . .
their most infamous persons of the Irish nation, who were
estates.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. G5
looked upon by those of their own country with the 1661.
greatest detestation, as men who had been the most"
violent fomenters and prosecutors of the rebellion,
and the greatest opposers of all moderate counsels,
and of all expedients which might have contributed
towards a peace in the late king's time, (whereby
the nation might have been redeemed,) and who
had not had the confidence so much as to offer any
claim before the late commissioners, were now ad-
judged and declared innocent, and so restored to
their estates : and that many others, who in truth Many who
had never been in rebellion, but notoriously served the king
the king against the rebels both in England and treated.™117
Ireland, and had never been put out of their estates,
now upon some slight evidence, by the interception
of letters, or confession of messengers that they had
had correspondence with the rebels, (though it was
evident that even that correspondence had been per-
functory, and only to secure them that they might
pursue his majesty's service,) were condemned, and
had their estates taken from them, by the judgment
of the commissioners.
And of this I cannot forbear to give an instance, An instance
and the rather, that it may appear how much a pe?-tbecMeaf
sonal prejudice, upon what account soever, weighs Tier "„„"[,
and prevails against justice itself, even with men
who are not in their natures friends to injustice. It
was the case of the earl of Tyrconnell, and it was
this. He was the younger son of the lord Fitzwil-
liams, a catholic lord in Ireland, but of ancient Eng-
lish extraction, of a fair estate, and never suspected
to be inclined to the rebels ; as very few of the Eng-
lish were. Oliver Fitzwilliams (who was the person
we are now speaking of, and the younger son of
VOL. n. fr
66 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. that lord Fitzwilliams) had been sent by his father
"into France, to be there educated, many years be-
fore the rebellion. He was a proper and a handsome
man, and by his courage had gotten a very good re-
putation in the French army ; where, after he had
spent some years in the campagna, he obtained the
command of a regiment in which he had been first a
captain, and was looked upon generally as an excel-
lent officer.
When the army was sent into winter quarters, he
went to Paris, to kiss the hands of the queen of
England, who was come thither the summer before,
it being in the year 1644. Having often waited
upon her majesty, he made many professions of duty
and obedience to the king, and much condemned
the rebellion of the Irish, and said, " he knew many
" of them were cozened and deceived by tales and
" lies, and had no purpose to withdraw themselves
" from his majesty's obedience." He made offer of
his service to the queen, " and that, if she thought
" he might be able to do the king any service, he
" would immediately go into England, and with his
" majesty's approbation into Ireland, where, if he
" could do no other service, he was confident he
" could draw off many of the Irish from the service
" of the rebels." The queen, upon the good reputa-
tion he had there, accepted his offer, and writ a let-
ter by him to the king, with a very good character
of his person, and as very fit to be trusted in Ire-
land.
It was his fortune to come to the king very few
days before the battle of Naseby, where, as a volun-
teer in the troop of prince Rupert, he behaved him-
self with very signal courage in the view of the
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 67
king himself; who shortly after gave him a letter 1661,
full of recommendation and testimony to the mar-~~
quis of Ormond, his lieutenant of Ireland, who re-
ceived him kindly, and having conferred with him
at large, and understood all he intended to do, gave
him leave to go into the Irish quarters, and to re-
turn again, as he thought fit. And in a short time
after, both his father and his elder brother died;
whereby both the title and the estate devolved to
him, and he was possessed accordingly.
The man was before and in his nature elate and
proud enough, had a 'greater value of himself than
other men had, and a less of other men than they
deserved, whereby he got not himself beloved by
many ; but nobody who loved him worst ever sus-
pected him to incline to the rebels, though they
knew that he was often in their quarters, and had
often conferences with them : and a good part of his
estate lay in their quarters. He attended upon the
lord lieutenant in all his expeditions : and when the
Irish so infamously broke the first peace, and be-
sieged the lieutenant in Dublin, (upon which he was
compelled to deliver it into the hands of the parlia-
ment with the king's consent,) the lord Fitzwilliams
returned with him or about the same time into
England, and from thence again into France ; where
he married the daughter of the widow countess of
Clare, and sister to that earl, a lady of a religion
the most opposite to the Roman catholic, which he
suffered her to enjoy without any contradiction.
When the war was at an end in England, and the
king a prisoner, he with his wife and family trans-
ported himself into England, and after some time
into Ireland ; where Cromwell had a jealous eye
F 2
68 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. upon him, but not being able to discover any thing
"against him, could not hinder him from possessing
the estate that had descended to him from his fa-
ther and his elder brother. And the war being
there ended, and the settlement made by the act of
parliament upon the statute, as hath been mentioned
before, there was not the least trouble given to him ;
but he quietly enjoyed the possession of his whole
estate till the king's return, when he came into Eng-
land to kiss his majesty's hand, and was by him
made earl of Tyrconnell.
When the commissioners sat upon the first act,
who observed no rules of justice, law, or equity,
when they contradicted any interest or appetite of
their own, he received no disturbance ; but when
these new commissioners came over, all men, as well
protestants as others, whose estates had never been
questioned, thought it safest for them to put in their
claims before the commissioners, to prevent any
trouble that might arise hereafter. This gentleman
followed that advice and example, put in his claim*
and pressed the commissioners for a short day to be
heard. The day was appointed. Neither adven-
turer, soldier, or any other person, made any title to
the land : but some envious person, unqualified for
any prosecution, offered a letter to the commis-
sioners which had many years before, and before his
coming into Ireland, been written by colonel Fitz-
williams in Paris to a Jesuit, one Hartogan, then in
Ireland ; in which he gave him notice " of his pur-
" pose of coming into Ireland, where he hoped to
" do their friends some service."
This letter was writ when the queen first de-
signed to send him to the king, that the Irish, who
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 69
were the most jealous people of the world, might 1661.
know of his purpose to come thither, before they~
should hear of his being in Dublin ; and now being
produced before the commissioners, without consi-
dering how long since it was writ, or the reason of
writing it, that he had served the king, and never
in the least degree against him, upon one of their
rules, " that a correspondence with the rebels was
" a good evidence," they without any pause declared
him nocent, and presently assigned his estate to
some persons to whom reprisals were to be made :
whilst they who thought the judgment very unjust,
laughed at the ill luck of a man whom they did not
love ; and all men were well enough pleased with
the sentence, who were displeased with the person.
And this party pursued him so severely into Eng-
land, that the king's interposition to redeem him
from so unjust a decree was looked upon as over-fa-
vouring the Irish ; when none were so glad of the
decree as the Irish, who universally hated him. Nor
was he at last restored to the possession of his estate,
without making some composition with those to
whom the commissioners had assigned it.
Many, who had formerly made their claims with- Many de-
out insisting upon any deeds of settlement or other "
conveyances in law, now produced former settle- JJ^JJ noto"
ments in consideration of marriage, or other likefor&ed-
good considerations in law, made before the begin-
ning of the rebellion : which being now proved by
witnesses enough, decrees were every day obtained
for the restitution of great quantities of land upon
those deeds and conveyances ; though the forgeries
of those deeds and perjury of those witnesses were
very notorious. And some instances were given of
F 3
70 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. the manifestation and direct proof that was made
of the forgery of deeds, upon which decrees had
been made, to the satisfaction of the commissioners
themselves, within a very short time after the pro-
nouncing those decrees : and yet no reparation was
given, but the decrees proceeded and were executed
with all rigour, as if no such thing had appeared.
The com- rpj^ commissioners answered, " that they had
raissioners »
defence. « made no decrees but according to their con-
" sciences, and such as they were obliged to » make
" by the course and rule of justice. That they did
" doubt and in truth believe, that there had been
" evil practices used both in the forging of deeds
" and corrupting of witnesses, and that the same
" was equally practised by the English as the Irish :
" and therefore that they had been obliged to make
" that order, which had been so much excepted
" against, not to admit the testimony of any English
" adventurer or soldier in the case of another adven-
" turer or soldier ; for that it was very notorious,
" they looked upon the whole as one joint interest,
" and so gratified each other in their testimonies."
And of this they gave many sad instances, by which
it was too evident that the perjuries were mutual,
and too much practised by the one and the other
side.
" That they had used all the providence and vi-
" gilance they could, by the careful examination of
" witnesses, (which were produced apart, and never
" in the presence of each other,) and by asking
" them all such material questions as occurred to
" their understandings, and which they could not
" expect to be asked, to discover the truth, and to
" prevent and manifest all perjuries. That they
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 71
" had likewise used their utmost diligence and care 166J.
" to prevent their being imposed upon with false and~
" forged deeds and conveyances, by taking a precise
" and strict view themselves of all deeds produced ;
" and interrogated the witnesses with all the cun-
" ning they could, upon the matter and considera-
" tion upon which such deeds had been entered
" into, and upon the manner u and circumstances in
"the execution thereof: which was all the provi-
" dence they could use. And though they met with
" many reasons oftentimes to doubt the integrity of
" the proceedings, and in their own private con-
" sciences to apprehend there might be great cor-
" ruption ; yet that they were obliged judicially to
" determine according to the testimony of the wit-
" nesses, and the evidence of those deeds in law
" against which no proofs were made. That they
" had constantly heard all that the adverse party
." had thought fit to object, both against the credit
" of any witnesses, and the truth and validity of
" any conveyances which were produced ; upon
" which they had rejected many witnesses, and dis-
" allowed some conveyances : but when the objec-
" tions were only founded upon presumptions and
" probabilities, as most usually they were, they
" could not weigh down the full and categorical
" evidence that was given.
" That if they had yielded to the importunities of
" the persons concerned, who often pressed to have
" further time given to them to prove such a perjury,
" or to disprove such a conveyance ; it must have
" made their work endless, and stopped all manner
11 manner"), matter
F 4
72 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. "of proceedings, for which it appeared they were
" straitened too much in time : and that indeed
" would have but opened the door wider for perjuries
" and other corruptions ; since it was very plain to
" them, that either side could bring as many wit-
" nesses as they pleased, to prove what they pleased,
" and that they would bring as many as they be-
" lieved necessary to the work in hand. And there-
" fore the commissioners having before prescribed a
" method and rule to themselves for their proceed-
" ings, and that no man could have a cause, in which
" he was concerned, brought to hearing without his
" knowing when it was to be heard, and so it wa^
" to be presumed, that he was well provided to sup-
" port his own title ; they had thought fit, upon ma-
" ture deliberation amongst themselves, to adhere to
" the order they had prescribed to themselves and
" others, and to conclude, that they would not be
" able to prove that another day, which they were
" not able to prove at the time when they ought to
" have been ready.
" For the discovery of any forgery after the de-
" crees had been passed, and upon which they had
" given no reparation," they confessed, " that some
" few such discoveries had been made to them, by
" which the forgery appeared very clearly : but as
" they had no power by the act of parliament to pu-
" nish either forgery or perjury, but must leave the
" examination and punishment thereof to the law,
" and to the judges of the law; so, that they had
" only authority to make decrees upon such grounds
" as satisfied their consciences, but had not any au-
" thority to reverse those decrees, after they were
" once made and published, upon any evidence what-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 73
" soever." They concluded with their humble desire 1661.
to the king, " that the most strict examinations might '"
" be made of their corruptions, in which," they said,
<* they were sure to be found very innocent, against
" all the malice that was discovered against them :
" that they had proceeded in all things according to
" the integrity of their hearts, and the best of their
'* understandings ; and if through the defect of that
" they had erred in any part of their determinations
" and judgments, they hoped their want of wisdom
" should not be imputed to them as a crime."
Many, who had a very good opinion of the per- Their de-
sons and abilities of the commissioners, were not yet perfectiysa-
satisfied with their defence; nor did they believe, tlsfactory'
that they were so strictly bound to judge upon the
testimony of suspected witnesses ; but that they were
therefore trusted with an arbitrary power, because it
was foreseen that juries were not like to.be entire:
so that they were, upon weighing all circumstances,
to declare what in their consciences they believed to
be true and just. That if they had bound themselves
up by too strict and unreasonable rules, they should
rather in time have reformed those rules, than think
to support what was done amiss, by the observation
of what they had prescribed to themselves. And it
was believed, that the entire exclusion of the Eng-
lish from being witnesses for the proving of what
could not in nature be otherwise proved, was not just
or reasonable. That their want of power to reverse
-or alter their own decrees, upon any emergent rea- f
sons which could afterwards occur, was a just ground
for their more serious deliberation in and before they
passed any such decrees. And their excuse for not
granting longer time when it was pressed for, was
74 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
founded upon x reasons which were visibly not to be
-1 justified; it not being possible for any man to de-
fend himself against the claims of the Irish, without
knowing what deeds or witnesses they could pro-
duce for making good their suggestions ; and there-
fore it was as impossible for them to have all their
evidence upon the place. Besides that it was very
evident, that in the last ten days of their sitting
(which was likewise thought to be when their power
as to those particulars was determined, and in which
they had made more decrees than in all the time
before) they had made so many in a day, contrary
to their former rule and method, that men were
plainly surprised, and could not produce those proofs
which in a short time they might have been sup-
plied with; and the refusing to allow them that
time, was upon the matter to determine their in-
terest, and to take away their estates without being
once heard, and upon the bare allegations of their
adversaries. And in these last decrees many in-
stances were given of that nature, wherein the evi-
dence appeared to be very full, if time had been
given to produce it.
A decree in There was one very notable case decreed by the
the°mar- commissioners extremely complained of, and cried out
trim imun~ agamst by all parties, as well Irish as English ; and
versaiiy for wnich the commissioners themselves made no
complained
of. other excuse or defence, but the receipt of a letter
from the king, which was not thought a good plea
for sworn judges, as the commissioners were. It was
the case of the marquis of Antrim. Which case hav-
ing been so much upon the stage, and so much en-
* was founded upon] Omitted in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 75
larged upon to the reproach of the king, and even 1661.
to the traducing of the memory of his blessed fa-
ther ; and those men, who artificially contrived the
doing of all that was done amiss, having done all
they could to wound the reputation of the chancel-
lor, and to get it to be believed, "that he had by
" some sinister information misled the king to oblige
" the marquis ;" it is a debt due to truth, and to
the honour of both their majesties, to set down a
very particular narration of that whole affair; by
which it will appear, how far the king was from so
much as wishing that any thing should be done for
the benefit of the marquis, which should be contrary
to the rules of justice.
Whilst his majesty was in foreign parts, he re-Averypar-
ceived frequent advertisements from England and latioSVf^h
from Ireland, "that the marquis of Antrim behaved AnSmV*
" himself very undutifully towards him ; and that case-
" he had made himself very grateful to the rebels,
" by calumniating the late king : and that he had
" given it under his hand to Ireton, or some other
" principal person employed under Cromwell, that
" his late majesty had sent him into Ireland to join
" with the rebels, and that his majesty was not of-
" fended with the Irish for entering into that rebel-
" lion :" which was a calumny so false and so odious,
and reflected so much upon the honour of his ma-
jesty, that the king was resolved, as soon as God
should put it into his power, to cause the strictest
examination to be made concerning it ; the report
having gained much credit with his majesty, by the
notoriety that the marquis had procured great re-
commendations from those who governed in Ireland
to those who governed in England ; and that upon
76 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. the presumption of that he had come into England,
~~ and as far as St. Alban's towards London, from
whence he had been forced suddenly to return into
Ireland by the activity of his many creditors, who
upon the news of his coming had provided for his
reception, and would unavoidably have cast him into
prison. And no recommendation could have inclined
those who were in authority, to do any thing ex-
traordinary for the protection of a person, who from
the beginning of the Irish rebellion lay under so ill
a character with them, and had so ill a name through-
out the kingdom.
The king had been very few days in London,
after his arrival from the parts beyond the seas,
when he was informed that the marquis of Antrim
was upon his way from Ireland towards the court :
and the commissioners from Ireland, who have been
mentioned before, were the first who gave his ma-
jesty that information, and at the same time told
him all that his majesty had heard before concern-
ing the marquis, and of the bold calumnies with
which he had traduced his royal father, witli many
other particulars ; " all which," they affirmed, "would
" be proved by unquestionable evidence, and by let-
" ters and certificates under his own hand." Upon
this full information, (of the truth whereof his ma-
jesty entertained no doubt,) as soon as the marquis
came to the town, he was by the king's special order
committed to the Tower; nor could any petition
from him, or entreaty of his friends, of which he
had some very powerful, prevail with his majesty to
admit him into his presence. But by the first op-
portunity he was sent prisoner to Dublin, where he
was committed to the castle ; the king having given
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 77
direction, that he should be proceeded against with 1661,
all strictness according to law : and to that purpose,
the lords justices were required to give all orders
and directions necessary. The marquis still pro-
fessed and avowed his innocence, and used all the
means he could to procure that he might be speedily
brought to his trial ; which the king likewise ex-
pected. But after a year's detention in prison, and
nothing brought against him, he was set at liberty,
and had a pass given him from the council there to
go into England. He then applied himself to his
majesty, demanding nothing of favour, but said, " he
" expected justice ; and that after so many years
" being deprived of his estate, he might at last be
" restored to it, if nothing could be objected against
" him wherein he had disserved his majesty."
He was a gentleman who had been bred up in
the court of England, and having married the duchess
of Buckingham, (though against the king's will,) he
had been afterwards very well received by both their
majesties, and was frequently in their presence. He
had spent a very vast estate in the court, without
having ever received the least benefit from it. He
had retired into Ireland, and lived upon his own
estate in that country, some years before the rebel-
lion brake out; in the beginning whereof he had
undergone some suspicion, having held some corre-
spondence with the rebels, and possibly made some
undertakings to them : but he went speedily to Dub-
lin, was well received by the justices there, and from
thence transported himself with their license to Ox-
ford, where the king was ; to whom he gave so good
an account of all that had passed, that his majesty
made no doubt of his affection to his service, though
78 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. he had very little confidence in his judgment and
""understanding, which were never remarkable. Be-
sides that it was well known, that he had a very
unreasonable envy towards the rnarquis of Ormond,
and would fain have it believed that his interest in
Ireland was so great, that he could reclaim that
whole nation to his majesty's obedience ; but that
vanity and presumption never gained the least credit
with" his majesty : yet it may reasonably be believed
that he thought so himself, and that it was the
source from which all the bitter waters of his own
misfortune issued.
Upon the Scots second entering into England
with their army upon the obligation of the covenant,
and all his majesty's endeavours to prevent it being
disappointed, the marquis of Mountrose had pro-
posed to the king, "to make a journey privately
" into Scotland, and to get into the Highlands,
" where, with his majesty's authority, he hoped he
" should be able to draw together such a body of
" men, as might give his countrymen cause to call
" for their own army out of England, to secure
" themselves." And with this overture, or upon de-
bate thereof, he wished " that the earl of Antrim"
(for he was then no more) " might be likewise sent
" into Ulster, where his interest lay, and from
" whence he would be able to transport a body of
" men into the Highlands, where he had likewise
" the clan of Macdonnels, who acknowledged him to
" be their chief, and would be consequently at his
" devotion ; by which means the marquis of Mount-
" rose? would be enabled the more powerfully to pro-
" ceed in his undertaking." The earl of Antrim en-
tered upon this undertaking with great alacrity, and
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 79
undertook to the king to perform great matters in 166 1.
Scotland ; to which his own interest and animosity
enough disposed him, having an old and a sharp
controversy and contestation with the marquis of
Argyle, who had dispossessed him of a large terri-
tory there. All things being adjusted for this un-
dertaking, and his majesty^ being well pleased with
the earl's alacrity, he created him at that time a
marquis, gave him letters to the marquis of Ormond
his lieutenant there, as well to satisfy him of the
good opinion he had of the marquis of Antrim, and
of the trust he had reposed in him, as to wish him
to give him ah* the assistance he could with conve-
nience, for the carrying on the expedition for Scot-
land.
And for the better preventing of any inconve-
nience that might fall out by the rashness and in-
advertency of the marquis of Antrim towards the
lord lieutenant, his majesty sent Daniel O'Neile of
his bedchamber into Ireland with him, who had
great power over him, and very much credit with
the marquis of Ormond ; and was a man of that
dexterity and address, that no man could so well
prevent the inconveniences and prejudice, which the
natural levity and indiscretion of the other might
tempt him to, or more dispose and incline the lord
lieutenant to take little notice of those vanities and
indiscretions. And the king, who had no desire
that the marquis should stay long in Dublin, upon
his promise that he would use all possible expedi-
tion in transporting himself into Scotland, gave him
leave to hold that correspondence with the Irish re-
bels (who had the command of all the northern parts,
and without whose connivance at least he could very
80 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. hardly be able to make his levies and transport his
""men) as was necessary to his purposes: within the
limits of which, it is probable enough that he did
not contain himself; for the education and conver-
sation he had in the world, had not extirpated that
natural craft in which that nation excels, and by
which they only deceive themselves ; and might say
many things, which he had not authority or warrant
to say.
Upon his coming to Dublin, the lord lieutenant
gave him all the countenance he could wish, and
assisted him in all the ways he could propose, to
prosecute his design ; but the men were to be raised
in or near the rebels' quarters. And it cannot be
denied, but that the levies he made, and sent over
into Scotland under the command of Calkito, were
the foundation of all those wonderful acts, which
were performed afterwards by the marquis of Mount-
rose, (they were fifteen hundred men, very good, and
with very good officers ; all so hardy, that neither the
ill fare nor the ill lodging in the Highlands gave them
any discouragement,) and gave the first opportunity
to the marquis of Mountrose of being in the head
of an army ; under which he drew together such of
the Highlanders and others of his friends, who were
willing to repair to him. But upon any military
action, and defeat given to the enemy, which hap-
pened as often as they encountered the Scots, the
Highlanders went always home with their booty,
and the Irish only stayed together with their ge-
neral. And from this beginning the marquis of
Mountrose grew to that power, that after many
battles won by him with notable slaughter of the
enemy, he marched victoriously with his army till
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 81
he made himself master of Edinburgh, and redeemed
out of the prison there the earl of Crawford ?, lord
Ogilby, and many other noble persons, who had been
taken and sent thither, with resolution that they
should all lose their heads. And the marquis of
Mountrose did always acknowledge, that the rise
and beginning of his good success was due and to
be imputed to that body of Irish, which had in the
beginning been sent over by the marquis of Antrim ;
to whom the king had acknowledged the service by
several letters, all of his own handwriting ; in which
were very gracious expressions of the sense his ma-
jesty had of his great services, and his resolution to
reward him.
It is true, that the marquis of Antrim had not
gone over himself with his men, as he had promised
to do, but stayed in Ulster under pretence of raising
a greater body of men, with which he would adven-
ture his own person ; but either out of jealousy or
displeasure against the marquis of Mountrose, or
having in truth no mind to that service of Scotland,
he prosecuted not that purpose, but remained still
in Ulster, where all his own estate lay, and so was
in the rebels' quarters, and no doubt was often in
their councils ; by which he gave great advantages
against himself, and might in strictness of law have
been as severely punished by the king, as the worst
of the rebels. At last, in his moving from place to
place, (for he was not in any expedition with the
rebels,) he was taken prisoner by the Scots, who in-
tended to have put him to death for having sent
men into Scotland ; but he made his escape out of
> Crawford] Strafford
VOL. II. G
82 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. their hands, and transported himself into Flanders,
and from thence, having assurance that the prince
(his majesty that now is) was then in the west, he
came with two good frigates into the port of Fal-
mouth, and offered his service to his royal highness ;
and having in his frigates a quantity of arms and
+ some ammunition, which he had procured in Flan-
ders for the service of Ireland, most of the arms and
ammunition were employed, with his consent, for
the supply of the troops and garrisons in Cornwall :
and the prince made use of one of the frigates to
transport his person to Scilly, and from thence to
Jersey ; without which convenience, his highness
had been exposed to great difficulties, and could
hardly have escaped the hands of his enemies. After
all which, when Dublin was given up to the parlia-
ment, and the king's authority was withdrawn out
of that kingdom, he again (not having wherewithal
to live any where else) transported himself into Ire-
land, made himself gracious with the Irish, and was
by them sent into France, to desire the queen mo-
ther and the prince of Wales " to send the marquis
" of Ormond to reassume his majesty's government
" in that kingdom ;" which was done accordingly,
in the manner that is mentioned elsewhere.
The marquis of Antrim alleged all these- particu-
lars, and produced many original letters from the
late king, (besides those which are mentioned,) the
queen mother, and the prince, in all which his ser-
vices had been acknowledged, and many promises
made to him; and concluded with a full protesta-
tion, " that he desired no pardon for any thing that
" he had ever done against the king ; and if there
" were the least proof that he had failed in his fide-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 83
" lity to him, or had not according to the best of 1661
" his understanding advanced his service, he looked ~
" for no favour. But if his being in the Irish quar-
" ters and consulting with them, without which he
" could not have made his levies for Scotland, nor
" transported them if he had levied them, and if his
" living amongst them afterwards, when his ma-
"jesty's authority7 was drawn from thence, and
" when he could live no where else, do by the strict
" letter of the law expose him to ruin without his
" majesty's grace and favour, he did hope his ma-
" jesty would redeem him from that misery, and
" that the forfeiture of his estate should not be
" taken, as if he were a traitor and a rebel to the
" king." And it appeared that if he were restored
to all he could pretend to, or of which he had ever
been possessed, his debts were so great, and his cre-
ditors had those legal incumbrances upon his estate,
that his condition at best would not be liable to
much envy.
Though the king had been never taken notice of
to have any great inclinations to the marquis, who
was very little known to him ; yet this representa-
tion and clear view of what he had done and what
he had suffered, raised great compassion towards
him in the royal breast of his majesty. And he
thought it would in some degree reflect upon his
own honour and justice, and upon the memory of
his blessed father, if in a time when he passed by so
many transgressions very heinous, he should leave
the marquis exposed to the fury of 'his enemies, (who
were only his enemies because they were possessed
* authority] Omitted in MS.
G 2
84 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. of his estate, and because he desired to have his
""own from them,) for no other crime upon the mat-
ter, than for not having that prudence and that pro-
vidence in his endeavours to serve the king, as he
ought to have had ; that is, he ought to have been
wiser. And the rigour exercised towards him upon
his first arrival, in sending him to the Tower and
afterwards into Ireland, by those who enough wished
his destruction, and that they had not been able to
make the least proof against him, improved his ma-
jesty's good disposition towards him. Yet he re-
fused positively to write a letter to the commis-
sioners on his behalf; which the marquis most im-
portunately desired, as the only thing that could do
him good. But his majesty directed a letter to be
prepared to the lord lieutenant, in which all his alle-
gations and suggestions should be set down, and the
truth thereof examined by him ; and that if he
should be found to have committed no greater faults
against the king, than those which he confessed,
then that letter should be sent to the commissioners,
that they might see both their majesties' testimonies
in such particulars as were known to themselves.
And this letter was very warily drawn, and being
approved by his majesty, was sent accordingly to
the lord lieutenant. And shortly after a copy of it
signed by the king (who conceived it only to be a
duplicate, lest the other should miscarry) was, con-
trary to his majesty's resolution, and contrary to
the advice of the chancellor and without his know-
ledge, likewise sent to the commissioners ; who had
thereupon made such a decree as is before men-
tioned, and declared, " that they had made it only
" upon that ground ;" which gave his majesty some
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 85
trouble, and obliged him to insert a clause in the 1661.
next bill concerning that affair.
And this was the whole proceeding that related
to the marquis of Antrim : and it is yet very hard
to comprehend, wherein there was more favour
shewed towards him by his majesty, than he might
in truth very reasonably pretend to, what noise so-
ever was raised, and what glosses soever made;
which proceeded only from the general dislike of
the man, who had much more weakness than wick-
edness in him, and was an object rather of pity than
of malice or envy.
When his majesty entered upon the debate of the
third bill, which was transmitted to him for a sup-
plement and addition to the other two, he quickly
found the settlement proposed, and which was the
end of the three bills, was now grown more difficult
than ever. All the measures, which had formerly The diffi-
been taken from the great proportion of land which a"ettie-
would remain to be disposed of, were no more to be^^J""
relied upon, but appeared to have been a wrong
foundation from the beginning; which was now
made more desperate, by the vast proportions which
had been assigned to the Irish by the commissioners'
decrees : and somewhat had intervened by some acts By some
of bounty from his majesty, which had not been dent acts of
carefully enough watched and represented to him. 'the king?
The king had, upon passing the former bills, and
upon discerning how much the Irish were like to suf-
fer, resolved to retain all that should by forfeiture or
otherwise come to his majesty in his own power ; to
the end, that when the settlement should be made, he
might be able to gratify those of the Irish nation, who
G 3
1661. had any thing of merit a towards him, or had been
~~ least faulty. And if he had observed that resolution,
very much of the trouble he underwent afterwards
had been prevented : for he would then, besides that
which Cromwell had reserved to himself, (which
was a vast tract of ground,) have had all those for-
feitures which the regicides had been possessed of,
and other criminal persons; which amounted to a
huge quantity of the best land. And though the
king had before designed all those forfeited lands to
his brother the duke, yet his highness was so pleased
with the resolution his majesty had taken, to retain
them to that purpose, that he forbore to prosecute
that grant, till he heard of great quantities of land
every day granted away by his majesty to his ser-
vants and others; whereby he saw the main end
would be disappointed. And then he resolved to be
no longer a loser for the benefit of those, who had
no pretence to what they got ; and so proceeded in
getting that grant from the king to himself of those
lands designed to him.
The kin& had swerved from tnat ™te> before it
owing to was scarce discerned : and the error of it may be
the earl of . '
Orrery. very justly imputed to the earl of Orrery b, and to
none but him ; who believing that he could never
be well enough at court, except he had courtiers of
all sorts obliged to him, who c would therefore speak
well of him in all places and companies, (and those
arts of his put the king to much trouble and loss
both in England and Ireland,) he commended to
many of such friends (though he had advised the
a of merit] Omitted in MS. b Orrery] Ormond c who] and
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 87
king to' the former resolution) many suits of that 1661.
kind, and sent certificates to them, oftentimes un-"~
der his own hand, of the value those suits might be
to them if obtained, and of the little importance the
granting of them would be to his majesty ; which,
having been shewed to the king, disposed him to
those concessions, which otherwise he would not so
easily have made. Then he directed them a way
(being then one of the lords justices) for the more
immediate passing those grants they could obtain,
without meeting those obstructions which they had
been subject to ; for when any of those grants had
been brought to the great seal of England, the
chancellor always stopped them, and put his majesty
in mind of his former resolution : but this new way This done
(in itself lawful enough) kept him from knowing any chancellor'*
of those transactions, which were made by letters knowledge :
from the king to the lords justices ; and thereupon
the grants were prepared there, and passed under
the great seal of Ireland.
There was then likewise a new clause introduced
into those grants, of a very new nature ; for being
grounded always upon letters out of England, and
passed under the seal of Ireland, the letters were
prepared and formed there, and transmitted hither
only for his majesty's sign manual : so that neither4
the king's learned council at law, nor any other his
ministers, (the secretaries only excepted,) had any
notice or the perusal of any of those grants. The And with
clause was, " that if any of those lands so granted dmary
" by his majesty should be otherwise decreed, his "
majesty's grantee should be reprised with other the s™nts-
a neither] Not in MS.
G 4
88 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. "lands:" so that in many cases, the greatest in-
"ducement to his majesty's bounty being the incer-
tainty of his own right, which the person to whom
it was granted was obliged to vindicate at his own
charge, the king was now bound to make it good, if
his grant was not valid. And so that which was
but a contingent bounty, which commonly was the
sole argument for the passing it, was now turned
into a real and substantial benefit, as a debt ; which
created another difficulty in the settlement : which
was yet the more hard, because there were many
claims of the Irish themselves yet unheard, all the
false admeasurements to be examined, and many
other uncertainties to be determined by the commis-
sioners ; which left those who were in quiet posses-
sion, as well as those who were out of it, in the
highest insecurity and apprehension.
This intricacy and even despair, which possessed
all kind of people, of any settlement, made all of
them willing to contribute to any that could be pro-
posed. They found his majesty very unwilling to
consent to the repeal of the decrees made by the
commissioners; which must have taken away the
confidence and assurance of whatsoever was to be
done hereafter, by making men see, that what was
settled by one act of parliament might immediately
be unsettled by another : so that there was no hope
by that expedient to increase the number of acres,
which being left might in any degree comply with
the several pretences. The Irish found, that they
might only be able to obstruct any settlement, but
should never be able to get such a one as would
turn to their own satisfaction. The soldiers and
adventurers agreed less amongst themselves : and
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 89
the clamour was as great against those, who by 1661.
false admeasurements had gotten more than they"
should have, as from those who had received less
than was their due ; and they who least feared any
new examination could not yet have any secure
title, before all the rest were settled. In a word, all
men found that any settlement would be better than
none ; and that more profit would arise from a
smaller proportion of land quietly possessed and
husbanded accordingly, than from e a much greater
proportion under a doubtful title and an incertainty,
which must dishearten any industry and improve-
ment.
Upon these considerations and motives, they met
amongst themselves, and debated together by what
expedient they might draw light out of this dark-
ness. There appeared only one way which ad-
ministered any reasonable hope ; which was, by in-
creasing the stock for reprisals to such a degree,
that all men's pretences might in some measure be
provided for : and there was no other way to arrive
to this, but by every man's parting with somewhat
which he thought to be his own. And to this they
had one encouragement, that was of the highest
prevalence with them, which was, that this way an
end would be put to the illimited jurisdiction of the
commissioners, (which was very terrible to all of
them,) who from henceforth could have little other
power, than to execute what should here be agreed
upon.
In conclusion, they brought a proposition to the The differ-
king, raised and digested between themselves, " that
' e from] of
90 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. "all persons, who were to receive any benefit by
agree upon " tn^s act» should abate and give a fourth part of
they na(^» towards the stock for reprisals ;
settlement. " all which the commissioners should distribute
" amongst those Irish, who should appear most fit
" for his majesty's bounty." And this agreement
was so unanimous, that though it met with some
obstinate opposition after it was brought before1 the
king, yet the number of the opposers was so small
in respect of the others who agreed to it, that they
grew weary and ashamed of further contention.
tnereuPon tnat third act of settlement, as sup-
passes the plemental to the other two, was consented to by the
third act . it«i i 111 i •
of settle- king; who, to publish to the world that nothing
stuck with him which seemed to reflect upon the
commissioners, resolved to make no change : and so
though two of them, who had offices here to dis-
charge, prevailed with his majesty that they might
not return again into Ireland; the other five were
continued, to execute what was more to be done by
this act, and so to perfect the settlement. And no
doubt it will be here said, that this expedient might
have been sooner found, and so prevented many of
those disorders and inconveniences which inter-
vened. But they who knew that time, and the per-
verseness and obstinacy that possessed all pretend-
ers, must confess that the season was never ripe
before : nor could their consent and agreement,
upon which this act was founded, ever be obtained
before.
These were all the transactions which passed with
reference to Ireland, whilst the chancellor remained
at that board ; in which he acted no more than any
other of the lords who were present did : except
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 91
when any difficulties occurred in their private meet- 1661.
ings and debates, they sometimes resorted to him"
for advice, which he was ready to give ; being al-
ways willing to take any pains, which might make
that very difficult work more easy to be brought to
a good end. But as he never thought he deserved
any reward for so doing, so he never expected the
benefit of one shilling in money or in money's worth,
for any thing he ever did in that affair ; and was so
far from entertaining any overture to that purpose,
that it is notoriously known to many persons of ho-
nour, who, I presume, will be ready to testify the
same, that when, upon his majesty's first return into
England, some propositions were made to him of
receiving the grant of some forfeited lands, and for
the buying other lands there upon the desire of the
owners thereof, and at so low a price that the very
profit of the land would in a short time have paid
for the purchase, and other overtures of immediate
benefit in money, (which others did and lawfully
might accept ;) he rejected all propositions of that
kind or relating to it, and declared publicly and
privately, " that he would neither have lands in
" Ireland nor the least benefit from thence, till all
" differences and pretences in that kingdom should
" be so fully settled and agreed, that there could be
" no more appeal to the king, or repairing to the
" king's council for justice ; in which," he said, " he
" should never be thought so competent an adviser,
" if he had any title of his own in that kingdom to
" bias his inclinations." And he was often heard to
say, " that he never took a firmer resolution in any
" particular in his life, than to adhere to that con-
" elusion." Yet because it was notorious afterwards,
92 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. that he did receive some money out of Ireland, and
""had a lawful title to receive more, (with which he
A vindica-
tion of the was reproached when he could not answer for him-
cbancellor •«/>• •••«*.« r>
with regard self ;) it may not be amiss in this place, for his vin-
*"' ' ' dication, to set down particularly how that came to
pass, and to mention all the circumstances which
preceded, accompanied, or attended that affair.
In the bills which were first transmitted from Ire-
land after his majesty's happy return, there was an
imposition of a certain sum of money upon some
specified lands in several provinces, " which was f to
" be paid to his majesty within a limited time, and
" to be disposed of by his majesty to such persons
" who had served him faithfully, and suffered in so
" doing," or words to that effect ; for he often pro-
tested that he never saw the act of parliament, and
was most confident that he never heard of it at the
time when it passed, he being often absent from the
council, by reason of the gout or other accidents,
when such matters were transacted. But two years
after the king's return, or thereabout, he received a
letter from the earl of Orrery, " that there would
" be in his hands, and in the earl of Anglesea's and
" the lord Massaren's," (who it seems were ap-
pointed treasurers to receive the money to be raised
by that act of parliament,) " a good sum of money
" for him ; which he gave him notice of, to the end
" that he might give direction for the disposal
" thereof, whether he would have it returned into
" England, or laid out in land in Ireland ;" and he
wished " that he would speedily send his direction,
*' because he was confident that the money would
f was] were
EDWARD EARL OF CLAREN7DON. 93
" be paid in, at least by the time that his letter 1661,
" could arrive there." No man can be more sur- ~~
prised, than the chancellor was at the receipt of this
letter, believing that there was some mistake in it,
arid that his name might have been used in trust by
somebody who had given him no notice of it. And
without returning any answer to the earl of Orrery,
he writ by that post to the lord lieutenant, to in-
form him of what the earl of Orrery had writ to
him, and desired him to " inform him by his own
" inquiry, what .the meaning of it was."
Before he had an answer from the lord lieutenant,
or indeed before his letter could come to the lord
lieutenant's hands, he received a second letter from
the earl of Orrery ; in which he informed him,
" that there was now paid in to his use the sum of
" twelve thousand six hundred and odd pounds, and
" that there would be the like sum again received
" for him at the end of six months ;" and sent him
a particular direction, " to what person and in what
" form he was to send his order for the payment of
" the money." The chancellor still forbore to an-
swer this letter, till he had received an answer to
what he had written to the lord lieutenant, who
then informed him at large, what title he had to
that money, and how he came to have it : " that
" shortly after the passing that act of parliament,
" which had given his majesty the disposal of the
" money before mentioned, the earl of Orrery had
" come to him, the lord lieutenant, and putting him
" in mind, how the chancellor had rejected all over-
" tures which had been made to him of benefit
" out of that kingdom," (which refusal, and many
others that shew how unsolicitous he had always
94 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. been in the ways of getting, is not more known to
~~ any man living than to the lord lieutenant,) " wished
" that he would move the king to confer some part
" of that money upon the chancellor ; which the
" lord lieutenant very willingly did, and his majesty
" as cheerfully granted : that a letter was accordingly
" prepared, and his majesty's royal signature pro-
" cured by Mr. Secretary Nicholas, who was at the
" same time commanded by the king not to let him
" know of it ; to which purpose there was likewise
" a clause in the letter, whereby it was provided
" that he should have no notice of it ; which," the
lord lieutenant said, " was by his majesty's direc-
" tion, or with his approbation, because it was said,
" that if he had notice of it, he would be so foolish
" as to obstruct it himself. And there was a clause
" likewise in the said letter, which directed the
" payment of the said monies to his heirs, execu-
" tors, or assigns, if he should die before the receipt
" thereof."
The chancellor being so fully advertised of all
this by the lord lieutenant, and of which till that
time he had not the least notice or imagination, he
desired secretary Nicholas to give him a copy of
that letter, (which had been since passed as a grant
to him under the great seal of Ireland, according to
the form then used ;) which the secretary gave him,
with a large account of many gracious circum-
stances in the king's granting it, and the obligation
laid upon him of secrecy, and the great caution
that was used that he might have no notice of it.
After he was informed of all this, he did not think
that there was any thing left for him to do, but to
make his humble acknowledgment to his majesty
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 95
for his royal bounty, and to take care for the re- 1661,
ceiving and transmitting the money ; and doubted
not but that he might receive it very honestly. He
did therefore wait upon his majesty with that duty
that became him : and his majesty was graciously
pleased to enlarge his bounty with those expressions
of favour, and of the satisfaction he had vouchsafed
to take himself in conferring his donative, that his
joy was much greater from that grace, than in the
greatness of the gift.
At the very same time, and the very day that the
chancellor received the letter from the lord lieute-
nant, the earl of Portland came to him, and in-
formed him of a difference that was fallen out be-
tween the lord Lovelace and sir Bulstrode Whitlock,
upon a defect in the title to certain lands purchased
heretofore by sir Bulstrode Whitlock from the lord
Lovelace, and enjoyed by him ever since ; but being
by the necessity of that time, the delinquency of
Lovelace and the power of Whitlock, bought and
sold at an undervalue, and the time being now more
equal, Lovelace resolved to have more money, or
not to perform a covenant he had entered into ; the
not-performance whereof would leave the other's
title very defective. The earl desired to reconcile
those two, which could not be done without sale of
the land : and so he proposed to the chancellor the
buying this land, which lay next to some land he
had in Wiltshire. This proposition was made? upon
the very day, as is said before, that he had received
the letter from the lord lieutenant of Ireland ; by
which it appeared that there was near as much
g was made] being made
96 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. money already received for him, as would pay for
~ that purchase, besides what was more to be received
within six months after. The land was well known
to the chancellor ; so that upon a short conference
with the parties, they all agreed upon the purchase :
and he was easily prevailed with to undertake the
payment of the greatest part of the money upon
sealing the writings, not making the least doubt,
but that he should by that time receive the money
frorti Ireland; which was the sole ground and mo-
tive to his making that purchase.
But the next letters he received from Ireland in-
formed him, " that the necessities of that kingdom
" had been such, that they could only return six
" thousand pounds of that money ; and that they
" had been compelled to make use of the rest for
" the public, which would take care to repay it to
" him in a short time :" and so he found himself en-
gaged in a purchase which he could not retract, upon
presumption of money which he could not receive.
And he did not only never h after receive one penny
of what was due upon the second payment, (which
he so little suspected could fail, there being an act of
parliament for the security, that he assigned it upon
the marriage of his second son to him, as the best
part of his portion ;) but the remainder of the first
sum, which was so borrowed or taken from him, or
any part of it, was never1 after paid to him or to his
use : by which, and the inconveniences and damages
which ensued to him from thence, he might rea-
sonably say that he was a loser, and involved in a
great debt, by that signal bounty of his majesty ;
h never] ever ' never] ever
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 97
and which was afterwards made matter of reproach 1C61.
to him, and as an argument of his corruption. But ~
this is a very true account of that business, and of
all the money that he ever received from Ireland,
with all the circumstances thereof; which, in the
judgment of all impartial men, cannot reflect to the
prejudice of his integrity and honour.
And so we shall no further pursue or again re-
sume any mention of the affairs of Ireland, though
they will afford a large field of matter; but shall
return to the beginning of the parliament, from
whence we departed.
It cannot be expressed, hardly imagined, with Trent nc-
. tions in
what alacrity the parliament entered upon all par- parliament.
ticiilar affairs which might refer to the king's ho-
nour, safety, or profit. They pulled up all those
principles of sedition and rebellion by the roots,
which in their own observation had been the ground
of or contributed to the odious and infamous rebel-
lion in the long parliament. They declared, " that The king's
" sottish distinction between the king's person and av
" his office to be treason ; that his negative voice
" could not be taken from him, and was so essential
" to the making a law, that no order or ordinance of
" either house could be binding to the subject with-
" out it ; that the militia was inseparably vested in
" his majesty, and that it was high treason to raise
" or levy soldiers without the king's commission."
And because the license of speaking seditiously, and
of laying scandalous imputations and aspersions upon
the person of the king, as saying " that he was
" a papist," and such like terms, to alienate the af-
fections of the people from his majesty, had been
the prologue and principal ingredient to that rebel-
VOL. II. H
98 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
16G1. lion, and corrupted the hearts of his loving subjects ;
"they declared, " that the raising any calumnies of
" that kind upon the king, as saying, ' that he is a
" papist, or popishly affected,' or the like, should be
" felony/' In a word, they vindicated all his regal-
ities and royal prerogatives, and provided for the
safety of his person in as loving and ample a manner
as he could wish : and towards raising and settling
a revenue proportionable to his dignity and neces-
sary expense, over and above the confirmation of all
that had been done or granted in the last conven-
tion, they entered upon all the expedients which
could occur to them, and were willing to receive
propositions or advice from any body that might
contribute thereunto. In all these public matters,
no man could wish a more active spirit to be in
them, than they were in truth possessed with.
The pariia- But in that which the king had principally re-
wiiiing to commended to them, the confirmation of the act of
the act of oblivion and indemnity, they proceeded very slowly,
indemnity, ^^ly, an(j unwillingly, notwithstanding the king's
frequent messages to them " to despatch it, though
" with the delay of those other things which they
" thought did more immediately concern him."
They had many agents and solicitors in the court,
who thought that all that was released by that act
might lawfully be distributed amongst them ; and
since the king had referred that whole affair to the
parliament, he might well leave it to their judg-
ments, without his own interposition. But his ma-
jesty looked upon himself as under another obliga-
tion both of honour and conscience, and upon the
thing itself as more for the public peace and security,
than any thing the parliament could provide instead
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 99
thereof; and therefore was very much troubled and I6G1.
offended at the apparent unwillingness to pass it. ~~
And thereupon he went himself to the house of
peers, and sent for the commons, and told them,
" that it was absolutely necessary to despatch that The king
, ... i * i i i • -,r> * * i strenuously
:< bill, which he himself had sent to them near two urges them
" months before :" for it was now the eighth of [r° c(
July. His majesty told them, " that it was to put
" himself in mind as well as them, that he so often,
" as often as he came to them, mentioned to them
" his declaration from Breda." And he said, " he
" should put them in mind of another declaration,
" published by themselves about that time, and
" which he was persuaded made his the more ef-
" fectual, an honest, generous, and Christian de-
" claration, signed by the most eminent persons,
" who had been the most eminent sufferers ; in
" which they renounced all former animosities, all
" memory of former unkindnesses, vowed all ima-
" ginable good-will and all confidence in each other."
All which being pressed with so much instance by
his majesty prevailed with them : and they then whereupon
forthwith despatched that bill ; and the king as soon firm it.
confirmed it, and would not stay a few days, till
other important bills should be likewise ready to be
presented to him.
And there cannot be a greater instance of their
desire to please his majesty from thenceforth, than
that before that session was concluded, notwith-
standing the prejudice the clergy had brought upon
themselves (as I said before) upon their too much
good husbandry in granting leases, and though
the presbyterian party was not without an interest
in both houses of parliament, they passed a bill for
H 2
100 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. the repeal of that act of parliament, by which the
"bishops were excluded from sitting there. It was
first proposed in the house of commons by a gentle-
man, who had been always taken to be of a pres-
The com- byterian family : and in that house it found less
b-^for"^-* opposition than was looked for; all men knowing,
slops to*"' that besides the justice of it, and the prudence to
their seats wipe out the memory of so infamous an act, as the
in parlia-
ment; exclusion of them with all the circumstances was
known to be, it would be grateful to the king.
But when it came into the house of peers, where
all men expected it would find a general concur-
rence, k met with some obstruction ; which made a
discovery of an intrigue, that had not been suspect-
ed. For though there were many lords present,
who had industriously laboured the passing the for-
mer bill for the exclusion, yet they had likewise
been guilty of so many other ill things, of which
they were ashamed, that it was believed that they
would not willingly revive the memory of the whole,
by persevering in such an odious particular. Nor in
truth did they. But when they saw that it would
unavoidably pass, (for the number of that party was
not considerable,) they either gave their consents, as
many of them did, or gave their negative without
noise. The obstruction came not from thence. The
catholics less owned the contradiction, nor were
Which is guilty of it, though they suffered in it. But the
intheCtei truth *s> k proceeded from the mercurial brain of
house of the earj of Bristol, who much affected to be looked
lords by
the eari of upon as the head of tlie catholics ; which they did
Bristol. *
so little desire that he should be thought, that they
very rarely concurred with him. He well knew that
the king desired (which his majesty never dissem-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 101
•*
bled) to give the Roman catholics ease from all the I66J,
sanguinary laws ; and that he did not desire that "~
they should be liable to the other penalties which
the law had made them subject to, whilst they
should in all other respects behave themselves like
good subjects. Nor had they since his majesty's re-
turn sustained the least prejudice by their religion,
but enjoyed as much liberty at court and in the
country, as any other men ; and with which the
wisest of them were abundantly satisfied, and did
abhor the activity of those of their own party, whomk
they did believe more like to deprive them of the li-
berty they enjoyed, than to enlarge it to them.
When the earl of Bristol saw this bill brought
into the house for restoring the bishops to their
seats, he went to the king, and informed his ma-
jesty, " that if this bill should speedily pass, it
" would absolutely deprive the catholics of all those
" graces and indulgence which he intended to them ;
" for that the bishops, when they should sit in the
" house, whatever their own opinions or -inclinations
" were, would find themselves obliged, that they
" might preserve their reputation with the people,
" to contradict and oppose whatsoever should look
" like favour or connivance towards the catholics :
" and therefore, if his majesty continued his former
" gracious inclination towards the Roman catholics,
" he must put some stop (even for the bishops'
" own sakes) to the passing that bill, till the other
" should be more advanced, which he supposed might
" shortly be done ;" there having been already some
overtures made to that purpose, and a committee
k whom] which
H 3
102 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
r-
1661. appointed in the house of lords to take a view of all
"the sanguinary laws in matters of religion, and to
present them to the house, that it might consider
further of them !. The king, surprised with the dis-
course from a man who had often told him the ne-
cessity of the restoring the bishops, and that it
could not be a perfect parliament without their pre-
sence, thought his reason for the delay to have
weight in it, and that the delay for a few days
could be attended with no prejudice to the matter
itself; and thereupon was willing the bill should
not be called form, and that when it should be under
commitment, it should be detained there for some
time ; and that he might, the better to produce this
delay, tell some of his friends, " that the king would
" be well pleased, that there should not be over-
" much haste in the presenting that bill for his royal
" assent."
This grew quickly to be taken notice of in the
house, that after the first reading of that bill, it had
been put off for a second reading longer than was
usual, when the house was at so much leisure ; and
that now it was under commitment, it was ob-
structed there, notwithstanding all the endeavours
some lords of the committee could use for the de-
spatch ; the bill containing very few words, being
only for the repeal of a former act, and the expres-
sions admitting, that is, giving little cause for any
debate. The chancellor desired to know how this
came to pass ; and was informed by one of the lords
of the committee, " that they were assured that the
" king would have a stop put to it, till another bill
1 of them] of it m for] upon
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 103
" should be provided, which his majesty looked for." 1661.
Hereupon the chancellor spake with his majesty, 7~
who told him all the conference which the earl of
Bristol had held with him, and what he had con-
sented should be done. To which the other replied,
"that he was sorry that his majesty had been pre-
" vailed with to give any obstruction to a bill, which
" every body knew his majesty's heart was so much
" set upon for despatch ; and that if the reason were
" known, it would quickly put an end to all the pre-
" tences of the catholics ; to which his majesty knew
" he was no enemy." The king presently con-
cluded that the reason was not sufficient, and
wished, " that the bill might be despatched as soon
" as was possible, that he might pass it that ses-
" sion ;" which he had appointed to make an end of
within few days : and so the next day the report
was called for and made, and the bill ordered to be
engrossed against the next morning ; the earl not
being at that time in the house. But the next
morning, when the chancellor had the bill engrossed
in his hand to present to the house to be read the
third time, the earl came to him to the woolsack,
and with great displeasure and wrath in his coun-
tenance told him, " that if that bill were read that
" day, he would speak against it ;" to which the
chancellor gave him an answer that did not please
him : and the bill was passed that day. And from But is at
that time the earl of Bristol was a more avowed and af
declared enemy to him, than he had before professed
to be ; though the friendship that had been between
them had been discontinued or broken, from the
time the earl had changed his religion.
The king within few days came to the parlia-
H 4
104 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1G61. ment, to give his royal assent to those bills which
~" were prepared for him ; and then told them, " that
" he did thank them with all his heart, indeed as
" much as he could for any thing, for the repeal of
" that act which excluded the bishops from sitting
" in parliament." He said, " it was an unhappy
" act in an unhappy time, passed with many un-
" happy circumstances, and attended with miserable
" events ; and therefore he did again thank them
" for repealing it : and that they had thereby re-
" stored parliaments to their primitive institutions."
The pariia- This was upon the thirtieth of July 1661, when the
journtd." parliament was adjourned to the twentieth of No-
vember following.
Because we have mentioned the gracious purposes
the king had to his Roman catholic subjects, of
which afterwards much use was made to his disser-
vice, to which the vanity and presumption of many
of that profession contributed very much ; it may
The true not be unseasonable in this place to mention the
the klng'-s ground of that his majesty's goodness, and the rea-
sons wnv ^at PurP°se of his was not prosecuted to
catholics £}je purp0se it was intended, after so fair a rise to-
wards it, by the appointment of that committee in
the house of peers, which is remembered above.
It is not to be wondered at, that the king, at the
age he was of when the troubles began in England,
and when he came out of England, knew very little
of the laws which had been long since made and
were still in force against Roman catholics, and
less of the grounds and motives which had intro-
duced those laws. And from the time that he was
first beyond the seas, he could not be without hear-
ing very much spoken against the protestant religion,
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 105
and more for extolling and magnifying the religion i6fil.
of the church of Rome ; neither of which discourses
made any impression upon him. After the defeat
at Worcester, and his escape from thence into
France, the queen his mother (who had very punc-
tually complied with the king her husband's injunc-
tions, in not suffering any body to endeavour to per-
vert the prince her son in his religion, and when he
came afterwards into France after he was king,
continued11 the same reservation) used0 much more
sharpness in her discourse against the protestants,
than she had been accustomed to. The liberty that
his majesty formerly had in the Louvre, to have a
place set aside for the exercise of his religion, was
taken away : and continual discourses were made
by the queen in his presence, " that he had now no
" hope ever to be restored to his dominions, but by
" the help of the catholics ; and therefore that he
" must apply himself to them in such a way, as
" might induce them to help him."
About this time there was a short collection and
abridgment made of all the penal laws, which had
been made and which were still in force in England
against the Roman catholics ; " that all priests for
" saying mass were to be put to death ;" the great
penalties which they were to undergo, who enter-
tained or harboured a priest in their house, or were
present at mass, and the like ; with all other envi-
ous clauses, which were in any acts of parliament,
that had been enacted upon several treasons and
conspiracies of the Roman catholics, in the reigns of
11 continued] her majesty con- jesty's return and escape from
tinned Worcester the queen used
0 used] but after his ma-
106 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. queen Elizabeth and king James. And this collec-
tion they caused to be translated into French and
into Latin, and scattered it abroad in all places,
after they had caused copies of it to be presented to
the queen mother of France, and to the cardinal :
so that the king came into no place where those pa-
pers were not shewed to him, and where he was not
seriously asked, " whether it was a true collection
" of the laws of England," and " whether it was
" possible that any Christian kingdom could exer-
" cise so much tyranny against the catholic reli-
" gion." The king, who had never heard of these
particulars, did really believe that the paper was
forged, and answered, " he did not believe that there
" were such laws :" and when he came to his lodg-
ings, he gave the chancellor the paper, and bade him
read it, and tell him, " whether such laws were in
" force in England." He had heard before of the
scattering of those papers, and knew well who had
made the collection ; who had been a lawyer, and
was a protestant, but had too good an opinion of the
Roman catholics, and desired too much to be grate-
ful to them.
The chancellor found an opportunity the next
day to enlarge upon the paper to his majesty, and
informed him of " the seasons in which, and the
" occasions and provocations upon which, those laws
" had been made ; of the frequent treasons and con-
" spiracies which had been entered into by some
" Roman catholics, always with the privity and ap-
" probation of their priests and confessors, against
" the person and life of queen Elizabeth ; and after
" her death, of the infamous and detestable gun-
" powder treason to have destroyed king James and
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 107
" his posterity, with the whole nobility of the king- 1661.
" dom : so that in those times, the pope having ex-
" communicated the whole kingdom, and absolved
" the subjects from all their oaths of fidelity, there
" seemed no expedient to preserve the crown, but
" the using these severities against those who were
" professed enemies to it. But that since those
" times, that the Roman catholics had lived quietly,
" that rigour had not been used : and that the king
" his father's clemency towards those of that pro-
" fession (which clemency extended no further than
" the dispensing with the utmost rigour of the laws)
" was the ground of the scandal of his being po-
" pishly affected, that contributed as much to his
" ruin, as any particular malice in the worst of his
" enemies."
The king hearkened attentively to all that was
said, and then answered, " that he could not doubt
" but there was some very extraordinary reason for
" the making such strange laws : but whatever the
*{ reason then was, that it was at present and for
" many years past very evident, that there was no
" such malignity in the Roman catholics, that should
" continue that heavy yoke upon their necks. That
" he knew well enough, that if he were in England,
" he had not in himself the power to repeal any act
" of parliament, without the consent of parliament :
" but that he knew no reason why he might not
" profess, that he did not like those laws which
" caused men to be put to death for their religion ;
" and that he would do his best, if ever God re-
" stored him to his kingdom, that those bloody laws
" might be repealed. And that if there were no
" other reason of state than he could yet compre-
108 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. " hend, against the taking away the other penalties,
~" he should be glad that all those distinctions be-
" tween his subjects might be removed ; and that
" whilst they were all equally good subjects, they
" might equally enjoy his protection." And his ma-
jesty did frequently, when he was in the courts of
catholic princes, and when he was sure to hear the
sharpness of the laws in England inveighed against,
enlarge upon the same discourse : and it had been a
very unseasonable presumption in any man, who
would have endeavoured to have dissuaded him from
entertaining that candour in his heart.
With this gracious disposition his majesty re-:
turned into England ; and received his catholic sub-
jects with the same grace and frankness, that he did
his other : and they took all opportunities to extol
their own sufferings, which they would have under-
stood to have been for him. And some very noble
persons there were, who had served his father very
worthily in the war, and suffered as largely after-
wards for having done so : but the number of those
was not great, but much greater than of those who
shewed any affection to him or for him, during the
time of his absence, and the government of the
usurper. Yet some few there were, even "of those
who had suffered most for his father, who did send
him supply when he was abroad, though they were
hardly able to provide necessaries for themselves :
and in his escape from Worcester, he received ex-
traordinary benefit, by the fidelity of many poor
people of that religion ; which his majesty was never
reserved in the remembrance of. And this gracious
disposition in him did not then appear ingrateful to
any. And then, upon an address made to the house
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 109
of peers in the name of the Roman catholics, for 1661.
some relaxation of those laws which were still in~
force against them, the house of peers appointed A commit-
that committee which is mentioned before, to ex- lords for re-
amine and report all those penal statutes, which p^afiLw
reached to the taking away the life of any Roman "»mnst lhe
' J Roman ca-
catholic, priest, or layman, for his religion ; there not thoiics.
appearing one lord in the house, who seemed to be
unwilling that those laws should be repealed. And
after that committee was appointed, the Roman ca-
tholic lords and their friends for some days diligently
attended it, and made their observations upon seve-
ral acts of parliament, in which they desired ease.
But on a sudden this committee was discontinued,
and never after revived ; the Roman catholics never
afterwards being solicitous for it.
The argument was now to be debated amongst
themselves, that they might agree what would
please them : and then there quickly appeared that The Roman
discord and animosity between them, that never disagree*
was nor ever will be extinguished ; and of which ^
the state might make much other use than it hath
done. The lords and men of estates were not satis-
fied, in that they observed the good-nature of the
house did not appear to extend further, than the
abolishing those laws which concerned the lives of
the priests, which did not much affect them : for
besides that those spectacles were no longer grateful
to the people, they were confident that they should
not be without men to discharge those functions;
and the number of such was more grievous to them
than the scarcity. That which they desired was,
the removal of those laws, which being let loose
would deprive them of so much of their estates, that
110 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
16C). the remainder would not preserve them from po-
~" verty. This indulgence would indeed be grateful to
them ; for the other they cared not. Nor were the
ecclesiastics at all pleased with what was proposed
for their advantage, but looked upon themselves as
deprived of the honour of martyrdom by this remis-
sion, that P they might undergo restraints, which
would be more grievous than death itself: and they
were very apprehensive, that there would remain
some order of them excluded, as there was even a
most universal prejudice against the Jesuits ; or that
there would be some limitation of their numbers,
which they well knew the catholics in general would
be very glad of, though they could not appear to de-
sire it 1.
There was a committee chosen amongst them of
the superiors of all orders, and of the secular clergy,
that sat at Arundel house, and consulted together
with some of the principal lords and others of the
prime quality of that religion, what they should say
or do in such and such cases which probably might
fall out. They all concluded, at least apprehended,
that they should never be dispensed with in respect
of the oaths, which were enjoined to be taken by all
men, without their submitting to take some other
oath, that might be an equal security of and for their
fidelity to the king, and the preservation of the
peace of the kingdom. And there had been lately
scattered abroad some printed papers, written by
some regular and secular clergy, with sober propo-
sitions to that purpose, and even the form of an oath
and subscription to be taken or made by all catho-
P that] and that 1 it] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. Ill
lies; in which there was an absolute renunciation 1661.
or declaration against the temporal authority of the ~~
pope, which, in all common discourses amongst the
protestants, all Roman catholics made no scruple to
renounce and disclaim : but it coming now to be the
subject-matter of the debate in this committee, the
Jesuits declared with much warmth, " that they
" ought not, nor could they with a good conscience
" as catholics, deprive the pope of his temporal au-
" thority, which he hath in all kingdoms granted
" to him by God himself," with very much to that
purpose ; with which most of the temporal lords, and
very many of the seculars and regulars, were so
much scandalized, that the committee being broken
up for that time, they never attended it again ; the
wiser and the more conscientious men discerning, that
there was a spirit in the rest that was raised and
governed by a passion, of which they could not com-
prehend the ground. And the truth is, the Jesuits,
and they who adhered to them, had entertained
great hopes from the king's too much grace to them,
and from the great liberty they enjoyed ; and pro-
mised themselves and their friends another kind of
indulgence, than they saw was intended to them by
the house of peers. And this was the reason that
that committee was no more looked after, nor any
public address was any further prosecuted.
And from this time there1" every day appeared so upon which
much insolence8 and indiscretion amongst the impru- n,utwTs~
dent catholics, that they brought so many scandals JU
upon his majesty, and kindled so much jealousy in
the parliament, that there grew a general aversion
r there] there was
* appeared so much insolence] so much insolence appeared
112 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. towards them. And the king's party remembered,
with what wariness and disregard the Roman ca-
tholics had lived towards them in the whole time of
the usurpation ; and how little sorrow they made
show of upon the horrid murder of the king, (which
was then exceedingly taken notice of:) and they who
had been abroad with the king remembered, that
his majesty had received less regard and respect
from his catholic subjects, wherever he found them
abroad, than from any1 foreign catholics; who always
received him with all imaginable duty, whilst his
own looked as if they had no dependance upon
him. And so we return to the parliament after its
adjournment.
The pariia- The parliament, that had been adjourned upon
ment meets ....
again. the thirtieth of July, met again upon the twentieth
of November, with the same zeal and affection to
*
advance the king's service. And the king himself
came to them upon the same day they met, and told
The king's them, " that he knew that visit was not of course ;
8peec ' " yet if there were no more in it, it would not be
" strange, that he came to see what he and they had
" so long desired to see, the lords spiritual and tem-
" poral, and the commons of England, met together
" to consult for the peace and safety of the church
" and state, by which parliaments were restored to
" their primitive lustre and integrity :" his majesty
said, " he did heartily congratulate with them for
" that day." But he told them withal, " that he
" came thither upon another occasion ; which was
" to say somewhat to them on his own behalf, to
" ask somewhat of them for himself, which was
1 any] any other
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 113
" more than he had done of them, or of those who 1C6I
" met before them, since his coming into England. "~
" Nor did he think, that what he had to say to them
" did alone, or did most concern himself: if the un-
" easy condition he was in, if the straits and neces-
" sities he was to struggle with, did not manifestly
" relate to the public peace and safety, more than
" to his own particular, otherwise than as he was
" concerned in the public, he would not give them
" that trouble that day ; he could bear his necessi-
" ties which merely related to himself, with patience
" enough."
He told them, " that he did not importune them
" to make more haste in the settling the constant
*' revenue of the crown, than was agreeable to the
" method they had proposed to themselves, nor to
" consider the insupportable weight that lay upon
" it, the obligations it lay under to provide for the
" interest, honour, and security of the nation, in an-
" other proportion than in any former times it had
" been obb'ged to : his majesty well knew, that they
" had very affectionately and worthily taken all that
" into their thoughts, and would proceed in it with
" expedition : but that he came to put them in mind
" of the crying debts which did every day call upon
" him, of some necessary provisions, which were to
" be made without delay for the very safety of the '
" kingdom, of the great sum of money that should
" be ready to discharge the several fleets when they
" came home, and for the necessary preparations
" that were to be made for the setting out new fleets
" to sea against the next spring. These were the
" pressing occasions which he Was forced to recom-
" mend to them with all possible earnestness, and
VOL. II. I
114 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. "he did conjure them to provide for as speedily
" as was possible, and in such a manner as might
" give them security at home, and some reputation
" abroad." His majesty said, " that he made this
" discourse to them with some confidence, because
" he was very willing and desirous that they should
" thoroughly examine, whether those necessities
" which he mentioned were real or imaginary, or
" whether they were fallen upon him by his own
" fault, his own ill managery, or excesses, and pro-
" vide for them accordingly. He was very willing
" that they should make a full inspection into his
" revenue, as well the disbursements as receipts ;
" and if they should find that it had been ill ma-
" naged by any corruptions in the officers he trusted,
" or by his own unthriftiness, he should take the
" advice and information they should give him very
" kindly."
He told them, " that he was very sorry that the
" general temper and affections of the nation were
" not so well composed, as he hoped they would
" have been, after so signal blessings from God Al-
" mighty upon them all, and after so great indul-
" gence and condescensions from him towards all in-
" terests. But that there were many wicked instru-
" ments still as active as ever, who laboured night and
" day to disturb the public peace, and to make all peo-
" pie jealous of each other : it would be worthy their
" care and vigilance to provide proper remedies for
" the diseases of that kind ; and if they should find
" new diseases, they must study new remedies. For
" those difficulties which concerned matters in re-
" ligion," his majesty confessed to them, " that they
" were too hard for him ; and therefore he did re-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 115
" commend them to their care and discretion, which I6G1.
" could best provide for them."
The two houses were abundantly pleased with all
that his majesty had said to them, and immediately
betook them to the consideration of those particu-
lars, which he had principally recommended to them.
And though for the present they looked upon that
clause of his majesty's speech, wherein he referred
to them to make an inspection into his revenue and
his expenses, but as a generous and princely conde-
scension, which would not become them to make use
of, (nor indeed had they at that time the least pre-
judice to or jealousy of any, who were of the nearest
trust about his majesty ;) yet four years after, when
the expenses had grown to be much greater, and it
may be all disbursements not so warrantable, and
when the factions in court and parliament were at a
great height, and men made use of public pretences
to satisfy their private animosities and malice, they
made use of that frank offer of his majesty, to en-
title themselves to make inquisition into public and
private receipts and disbursements, in a very extra-
ordinary manner never practised before.
Let no man wonder, that within so little time as The reasons
a year and a half, or very little more, after the j^s 'debts
king's return, that is, from May to November in the wree™ so
next year, and after so great sums of money raised
by acts of parliament upon the people, his majesty's
debts could be so crying and importunate, as to dis-
turb him to that degree as he expressed. It was
never enough understood, that in all that time he
never received from the parliament more than the
seventy thousand pounds towards his coronation ; nor
were the debts which were now so grievous to him
I 2
116 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. contracted by himself, (though it cannot be supposed
"but that he had contracted debts himself in that
time:) all the money that had been given and
raised had been applied to the payment of the
land and sea forces, and had done neither. Parlia-
ments do seldom make their computations right,
but reckon what they give to be much more than is
ever received, and what they are to pay to be as
much less than in truth they owe ; so that when all
the money that was collected was paid, there re-
mained still very much due to the soldiers, and
much more to the seamen : and the clamour from
both reached the king's ears, as if they had been le-
vied by his warrant and for his service. And his
majesty understood too well, by the experience of
the ill husbandry of the last year, when both the
army and the ships were so long continued in pay,
for want of money to disband and pay them off,
what the trouble and charge would be, if the several
fleets should return before money was provided to
discharge the seamen ; and for that the clamour
would be only upon him.
But there was an expense that he had been en-
gaged in from the time of his return, and by which
he had contracted a great debt, of which very few
men could take notice ; nor could the king think
fit to discover it, till he had first provided against
the mischief which might have attended the disco-
very. It will hardly be* believed, that in so warlike
an age, and when the armies and fleets of Eng-
land had made more noise in the world for twenty
years, had fought more battles at land and sea, than
all the world had done besides, or any one people
had done in any age before ; and when at his ma-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 117
jesty's return there remained a hundred ships at 1661.
sea, and an army of near threescore thousand men"
at land ; there should not be in the Tower of Lon-
don, and in all the stores belonging to the crown,
fire-arms enough, nor indeed of any other kind, to
arm three thousand men ; nor powder and naval
provisions enough to set out five ships of war.
From the death of Cromwell, no care had been
taken for supplies of any of the stores. And the
changes which ensued in the government, and put-
ting out and in new officers ; the expeditions of
Lambert against sir George Booth, and afterwards
into the north ; and other preparations for those
factions and parties which succeeded each other ;
and the continual opportunities which the officers
had for embezzlement ; and lastly, the setting out
that fleet which was sent to attend upon the king
for his return ; had so totally drained the stores
of all kinds, that the magazines were no better re-
plenished than is mentioned before : which as soon
as his majesty knew, as he could not be long ig-
norant of it, the first care he took was to conceal
it, that it might not be known abroad or at home, in
how ill a posture he was to defend himself against
an enemy. And then he committed the care of
that province to a noble person, whom he knew he
could not trust too much, and made sir William
Compton master of the .ordnance, and made all the
shifts he could devise for monies, that the work
might be begun. And hereby insensibly he had
contracted a great debt : and these were part of the
crying debts, and the necessary provisions which
were to be made without delay for the very safety
of the kingdom, which he told the parliament.
118 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. Arid in this he had laboured so effectually, that at
~ the time when the first Dutch war was entered into,
all the stores were more completely supplied and
provided for, and the ships and all naval provisions
in greater strength and plenty, than they had ever
been in the reign of any former king, or in the time
of the usurper himself.
That part of the king's speech, of the distempers
in the nation by the differences in religion, which
he confessed were too hard for him, and recom-
mended the composing them to their care and deli-
beration, gives me a seasonable opportunity to enter
upon the relation, how that affair stood at that time,
and how far the distractions of those several factions
were from being reconciled, though episcopacy seem-
ed to be fully restored, and the bishops to their votes
in parliament ; which had been looked upon as the
most sovereign remedy, to cure, reform, or extin-
An account guish all those maladies. The bishops had spent
oftherevi- C
sai of the the vacation in making such alterations in the
Book of Common Prayer, as they thought would
make it more grateful to the dissenting brethren,
for so the schismatical party called themselves ; and
such additions, as in their judgments the temper of
the present time and the past miscarriages required.
It was necessarily to be presented to the convoca-
tion, which is the national synod of the church ; and
that did not sit during the recess of the parliament,
and so came not together till the end of November :
where the consideration of it took up much time ;
all men offering such alterations and additions, as
were suitable to their own fancies, and the obser-
vations which they had made in the time of confu-
sion.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 119
The bishops were not all of one mind. Some of
them, who had greatest experience, and were inSolueofthe
truth wise men, thought it best " to restore and bish°Ps &™
against all
" confirm the old Book of Common Prayer, without alterations
" any alterations and additions ; and that it would turgy.
" be the best vindication the Liturgy and govern-
" ment of the church could receive, that after so
" many scandals and reproaches, cast upon both, and
" after a bloody rebellion and a war u of twenty
" years, raised, as was pretended, principally against
** both, and which had prevailed and triumphed in
" the total suppression and destruction of both, they
" should now be restored to be in all respects the
" same they had been before. Whereas any altera-
" tions and additions (besides the advantage it might
" give to the common adversary, the papist, who
" would be apt to say that we had reformed and
" changed our religion again) would raise new scru-
" pies in the factious and schismatical party, that
" was ashamed of all the old arguments, which had
" so often been answered, and stood at present ex-
" ploded in the judgment of all sober men ; but
" would recover new spirits to make new objections,
" and complain that the alterations and additions
" are more grievous and burdensome to the liberty
" of their conscience, than those of which they had
" formerly complained."
Others, equally grave, of great learning and un- others of
blemished reputation, pressed earnestly both for the earnestly"
alterations and additions ; said, " that it was a com- fo'
" mon reproach upon the government of the church,
" that it would not depart from the least unneces-
11 a war] wars
I 4
120 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 66 L " sary expression or word, nor explain the most in-
" significant ceremony ; which would quiet or re-
" move the doubts and jealousies of many conscien-
" tious men, that they did in truth signify somewhat
" that was not intended : and therefore, since some
" powerful men of that troublesome party had made
" it their earnest request, that some such alterations
" and additions might be made x, and professed that
'*. it would give great satisfaction to many very good
" men ; it would be great pity, now there was a fit
" opportunity for it, which had not been in former
" times of clamour, not to gratify them in those
" small particulars, which did not make any impor-
" tant difference from what was before." It may be
there were some, who believed that the victory and
triumph of the church would be with the more lus-
tre, if somewhat were inserted, that might be un-
derstood to reflect upon the rude and rebellious be-
haviour of the late times, which had been regulated
and conducted by that clergy : and so both additions
• and alterations were made.
The former But the truth is, what show of reason soever and
mPore°pn^e appearance of charity the latter opinion seemed to
dent. carry with it, the former advice was the more pru-
dent, and would have prevented many inconve-
niences which ensued. Whatever had been pre-
tended or desired, the alterations which were made
to please , them did not reduce one of them to the
obedience of the church ; and the additions raised
the clamour higher than it had been. And when it
was evident that they should not be left longer
without a Liturgy, they cried aloud for the same
x be made] Omitted in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 121
they had before, though they had inveighed against J6G1.
it for near a hundred years together.
It is an unhappy policy, and always unhappily T
applied, to imagine that that classis of men can be Baking7'
recovered and reconciled by partial concessions, or ^nt"ess^sns
granting less than they demand. And if all weresenters-
granted, they would have more to ask, somewhat as
a security for the enjoyment of what is granted,
that shall preserve their power, and shake the whole
frame of the government. Their faction is their
religion : nor are those combinations ever entered
into upon real and substantial motives of conscience,
how erroneous soever, but consist of many glutinous
materials, of will, and humour, and folly, and kna-
very, and ambition, and malice, which make y men
cling inseparably together, till they have satisfaction
in all their pretences, or till they are absolutely
broken and subdued, which may always be more
easily done than the other. And if some few, how
signal soever, (which often deceives us,) are sepa-
rated and divided from the herd upon reasonable
overtures, and secret rewards which make the over-
tures look the more reasonable ; they are but so
many single men, and have no more credit and au-
thority (whatever they have had) with their com-
panions, than if they had never known them, rather
less; being less mad than they were makes them
thought to be less fit to be believed. And they,
whom z you think you have recovered, carry always
a chagrin about them, which makes them good for
nothing, but for instances to divert you from any
more of that kind of traffick.
y make] makes z whom] who
122 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. And it is very strange, that the clergy did not at
this time remember what had so lately befallen the
poor church of Scotland, upon the transmission of
their Liturgy, which had been composed with this
very prospect that now dazzled their eyes. " To
" receive a Liturgy from England was below the dig-
" nity of that nation, which were governed by their
" own laws, without a dependance upon any other.
" Besides there were many errors in that Liturgy
" that they could never submit to, and some defects
" which ought to be supplied ; and if such a one
" should be compiled, in which all those exceptions,
*' which were well enough known, might be provided
" for, they would gladly receive it." All this was
carefully performed ; and what reception it had af-
terwards is too well known, and will ever be remem-
bered by the scars which still remain from those
wounds. And then the great objection that was
most impudently urged was, " that it differed from
" the Liturgy of the church of England, which they
" were ready to have received, and would have de-
" clared to the world, that the two nations had but
" one religion ; whereas the book sent to them would
" have manifested the contrary, and was the pro-
" duct of a few particular men, to whose spirit and
" humour they would not sacrifice their native li-
" berty of conscience."
None of the They of the same fraternity in England at this
gaTneTby present governed themselves by the same method,
the conces- though, God be thanked, not yet with the same suc-
sions now
made. cess. And there is great reason to believe, that the
very men, who laboured so much for the alterations
a without] with
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 123
which were made, and professed to receive so much 1661.
satisfaction in them, did it for no other end, but to~
procure more opportunity to continue and enlarge
the contentions ; and to gain excuse and credit to
the ill things they had done, by the redress and re-
paration that was given them in the amendment of
many particulars, against which they had always
complained. There was not one of them who had
used that importunity and made that profession,
who afterwards was conformable to the government
of the church, or frequented those churches where
or when the Liturgy was used.
Whilst the clergy was busy and solicitous to pre- 1662.
pare this remedy for the present distempers, the preachers
people of all the several factions in religion assumed much* H-
more license than ever they had done. The pres-cense-
byterians in all their pulpits inveighed against the
Book of Common Prayer that they expected, and
took the same liberty to inveigh against the govern-
ment of the church, as they had been accustomed
to before the return of the king ; with reflections b
upon the persons of the bishops, as if they assumed
a jurisdiction that was yet at least suspended. And
the other factions in religion, as if by concert, took
the same liberty in their several congregations.
The anabaptists and the quakers made more noise
than ever, and assembled together in greater num-
bers, and talked what reformations they expected in
all particulars. These insolences offended the par-
liament very much : and the house of commons
expressed much impatience, that the Liturgy was so
long in preparation, that the act of uniformity might
b reflections] reflection
124 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. without delay be passed and published; not with-
~ out some insinuations and reflections, that his ma-
jesty's candour, and admission of all persons to resort
to his presence, and his condescension to confer with
them, had raised their spirits to an insolence insup-
portable ; and that nothing could reduce them to the
temper of good subjects, but the highest severity.
It is very true, from the time of his majesty's
coming into England, he had not been reserved in
the admission of those who had been his greatest
enemies, to his presence. The presbyterian ministers
he received with grace ; and did believe that he
should work upon them by persuasions, having been
well acquainted with their common arguments by
the conversation he had had in Scotland, and was
very able to confute them. The independents had
as free access, both that he might hinder any con-
junction between the other factions, and because
they seemed wholly to depend upon his majesty's
will and pleasure, without resorting to the parlia-
ment, in which they had no confidence; and had
rather that episcopacy should flourish again, than
that the presbyterians should govern. The king
had always admitted the quakers for his divertise-
ment and mirth, because he thought, that of all the
factions they were the most innocent, and had least
of malice in their natures against his person and his
government : and it was now too late, though he
had a worse opinion of them all, to restrain them
from coming to him, till there should be some law
made to punish them; and therefore he still called
upon the bishops, to cause the Liturgy to be expe-
dited in the convocation. And finding that those
distempers had that influence upon the house of
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 125
commons, that the displeasure and jealousy which ifi62.
they conceived from thence did retard their coun-~~
sels, and made them less solicitous to advance his
service in the settling his revenue, they having sat
near three months after their coming together again
upon their adjournment, without making any con-
siderable progress in it; he sent for the speaker and The king
the house of commons to attend him at Whitehall, the house of
where he spake unto them, though very graciously, Jo "ttend
in a style that seemed to have more of expostulation w'," {Jha)1
and reprehension than they had been accustomed to. March '•
He said, " he spake his heart to them when he His sPeech
'to them.
" told them, that he did believe, that from the first
" institution of parliaments to that hour, there had
" never been a house of commons fuller of affection
" and duty to their king, than they were to him ;
" never any that was more desirous and solicitous
" to gratify their king, than they were to oblige
" him ; never a house of commons, in which there
" were fewer persons without a full measure of zeal
" for the honour and welfare of the king and coun-
" try, than there are in this : in a word," he said,
" he knew most of their persons and names, and
" could never hope to find better men in their places.
" Yet after all this, he could not but lament, and
" even complain, that he and they and the kingdom
" were yet without that present fruit and advantage,
" which they might reasonably promise themselves
" from such a harmony of affections, and unity in
" resolutions to advance the public service, and to
" provide for the peace and security of the kingdom ;
" that they did not expedite those good counsels,
" which were most necessary for both. He knew
" not how it came to pass, but for many weeks past,
126 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 662. « even since their last adjournment, private and par-
" ticular business had almost thrust the considera-
" tion of the public out of doors ; and he did not
" know that they were nearer the settling his re-
" venue, than they had been at Christmas. He was
" sure he had communicated his condition to them
" without reserve ; what he had coming in, and
" what his necessary disbursements were. And," he
said, " he was exceedingly deceived, if whatever
" they gave him were any otherwise given to him,
" than to be issued out for their own use and be-
" nefit ; and if they considered it well, they would
" find that they were the richer by what they gave,
" since it was all to be laid out that they might en-
" joy the rest in peace and security."
He said, " he need not put them in mind of the
" miserable effects, that had attended the wants and
" necessities of the crown ; that he needed not to
" tell them, that there was a republican party still
" in the kingdom, which had the courage still to
" promise themselves another revolution : and he
" thought he had as little need to tell them, that
" the only way, with God's blessing, to disappoint
" their hopes, and indeed to reduce them from
" those extravagant hopes and desires, was, to let
" them see that they had so provided for the crown,
<( that it had wherewithal to support itself, and
" to secure his people ; which he was sure was all
" he desired, and desired only for their preserva-
" tion. Therefore he conjured them, by all the pro-
" fessions of affection which they had made to him,
" by all the kindness which he knew they had for
" him, that they would, after all their deliberations,
" betake themselves to some speedy resolutions, and
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 127
" settle such a real and substantial revenue upon 16G2.
" him, as might hold some proportion with the ne-~~
" cessary expenses he was at for the peace and be-
" nefit and honour of the kingdom ; that they who
" looked for troubles at home might despair of their
" wishes ; and that our neighbours abroad, by seeing
" that all is well at home, might have that esteem
" and value of his majesty, as might secure the ho-
" nour and interest of the nation, and make the
" happiness of the kingdom and of that city once
" more the admiration and envy of the world." _
He tpld them, " that he heard that they were
" very zealous for the church, and very solicitous
" and even jealous that there was not expedition
" enough used in that affair : he thanked them for
" it, since he presumed that it proceeded from a
" good root of piety and devotion. But,", he said,
" that he must tell them, that he had the worst luck
" in the world, if after all the reproaches of being a
" papist while he was abroad, he was suspected to
" be a presbyterian now he was come home. He
" knew they would not take it unkindly, if he told
" them, that he was as zealous for the church of
" England as any of them could be, and was enough
" acquainted with the enemies of it on all sides ; that
" he was as much in love with the Book of Common
" Prayer as they could wish, and had prejudice
" enough to those who did not love it, who he hoped
" in time would be better informed, and so change
" their minds ; and they might be confident, he did
" as much desire to have an uniformity settled, as
" any man amongst them. He prayed them to trust
" him in that affair, and promised them to hasten
" the despatch of it with all convenient speed ; they
128 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. " might rely upon him in it." He said, " he had
~~" transmitted the Book of Common Prayer, with
" those alterations and additions which had been
" presented to him by the convocation, to the house
" of peers with his approbation, that the act of uni-
" formity might relate to it ; so that he presumed
" that it would shortly be despatched there : and
" that when they had done all they could," he said,
" the well settling that affair would require great
" prudence and discretion, and the absence of all
" passion and precipitation."
His majesty concluded with assuring them, " that
" he did promise himself great fruits from that con-
" versation he had with them, and that they would
"justify the confidence he had in their affections,
" by letting the world see, that they took his con-
" cernments to heart, and were ready to do what-
" soever he desired for the peace and welfare of the
." kingdom."
The Liturgy When the Book of Common Prayer was, by the
king's command, presented to the house of lords by
*ne *w° archbishops (for it had been approved c by
king's cou- the convocation of the province of York, as well as
nriuation; •
by d that of Canterbury) confirmed by his majesty
under the great seal of England ; the book itself
took up no debate : only the earl of Northumberland
proposed, " that the old Book of Common Prayer
" might be confirmed without any alteration or ad-*
" dition, and then the same act of uniformity,
" that had been in the time of queen Elizabeth,
" would be likewise applied to it ; whereas a new
" act of uniformity might take up much time and
c approved] approved as well. •' by] of
.EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 129
*' raise much debate, all which would be avoided by 1 662.
" adhering to the old."
Whatever that lord's opinion was, he was known
to be of the presbyterian party. And it was answer-
ed, " that if that proposition had been heartily made
" when the king came into England, it would have
" met with a general approbation, and prevented
" much sharpness and animosity, which had since
" risen by those who opposed that excellent form.
" But after the clergy had so bitterly inveighed
" against many parts thereof, and prevailed with
" his majesty to suspend the use of it till it might
" be revised, as by his declaration of the five and
" twentieth of October he had done, and thereupon
" had granted his commission under the great seal
" of England to several bishops and other divines,
" to review the Book of Common Prayer, and to
" prepare such alterations and additions as they
" thought fit to offer;, and that afterwards his ma-
" jesty had been pleased to authorize the convoca-
" tions of both the provinces of Canterbury and
" York, called and assembled by his majesty's au-
" thority, to review the said Book of Prayer, and
" the Book of the Form and Manner of the making
" and consecrating of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons ;
" and that now after the bishops and clergy of both
" provinces had, upon great deliberation and upon
" reviewing those books, prepared and consented to
" some alterations, and to the addition of several
" prayers to be used upon emergent occasions, all
" which his majesty had already ratified and con-
" firmed ; it could not but be understood matter of
" great levity and offence, to reject this book, that
" was now with all this ceremony and solemnity
VOL. II. K
130 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
16G2. " presented, for no other reason but because they
~ " liked better the old book, which had been for
" twenty years discontinued and rejected." And
therefore it was moved, " that there might not be
" such an affront put upon the convocation, and
And con- " upon the king himself." And so with little more
bynthem! public contest the book itself was consented and
submitted to.
But then the act of uniformity depended long,
and took up much debate in both houses. In the
house of peers, where the act first began, there were
many things inserted, which had not been con-
tained in the former act of uniformity, and so seemed
Debates to carry somewhat of novelty in themd. It admitted
thefact oT " no person to have any cure of souls or any eccle-
(( siastical dignity in the church of England, but
" such who had been or should be ordained priest
" or deacon by some bishop, that is, who had not
" episcopal ordination ; excepting only the ministers
" or pastors of the French and Dutch churches in
" London and other places, allowed by the king,
" who should enjoy the privileges they had."
This was new ; for there had been many, and at
present there were some, who possessed benefices
with cure of souls, and other ecclesiastical promo-v
tions, who had never received orders but in France
or in Holland; and these men must now receive
new ordination, which had been always held unlaw-
ful in the church, or by this act of parliament must
be deprived of their livelihood, which they enjoyed
in the most flourishing and peaceable time of the
church. And therefore it was said, " that this had
d in them] in it
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 131
" not been the opinion of the church of England ; iGG2.
" and that it would lay a great reproach upon all v on the
" other protestant churches who had no bishops, as claufe re-
• * . quiring
" if they had no ministers, and consequently were episcopal
" no churches : for that it was well known the church °r<
" of England did not allow reordination, as the an-
" cient church never admitted it ; insomuch as if
" any priest of the church of Rome renounces the
" communion thereof, his ordination is not ques-
" tioned, but he is as capable of any preferment in
" this church, as if he had been ordained in it. And
" therefore the not admitting the ministers of other
" protestants to have the same privilege, can proceed
" from no other ground, than that they looked not
" upon them as ministers, having no ordination ;
" which is a judgment the church of England had
" not ever owned : and that it would be very im-
" prudent to do it now."
To this it was answered, " that the church of
" England judged none but her own children, nor
" did f determine that other protestant churches
" were without ordination. It is a thing without
" her 8 cognizance : and most of the learned men of
" those churches had made necessity the chief pillar
" to support that ordination of theirs. That neces-
" sity cannot be pleaded here, where ordination is
" given according to the unquestionable practice of
" the church of Christ : if they who pretend foreign
" ordination are his majesty's subjects, they have no
" excuse of necessity, for they might in all times
" have received episcopal ordination, and so they
" did upon the matter renounce their own church ;
f did] did not * her] their
K 2
132 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. " if they are strangers, and pretend to preferment in
~~ " this church, they ought to conform and to be sub-
'* ject to the laws of the kingdom, which concern
*' only those who desire to live under the protection
" thereof11. For the argument of reordination, there
" is no such thing required. Rebaptization is not
" allowed in or by any church : yet in all churches
" where it is doubted, as it may be often with very
" good reason, whether the person hath been bap-
" tized or no, or if it hath been baptized by a mid-
" wife or lay person ; without determining the vali-
" dity or invalidity of such baptism, there is an hy-
" pothetical form, ' If thou hast not been already
" baptized, I do baptize,' &c. So in this case of or-
" dination, the form may be the same, * If thou hast
" not been already ordained, then I do ordain,' &c.
" If his former ordination were good, this is void ; if
" the other was invalid or defective, he hath reason
" to be glad that it be thus supplied." After much
debate, that clause remained still in the act : and
very many, who had received presbyterian orders in
the late times, came very willingly to be ordained
in the manner aforesaid by a bishop ; and very few
chose to quit or lose a parsonage or vicarage of any
value upon that scruple.
A clamour There was another clause in the bill, that made
afterwards
raised about very much more noise afterwards, though for the
present it took not up so much time, and in truth
was little taken notice of: that is, a form of sub-
scription that every man was to make, who had ' re-
ceived, or before he received, any benefice or prefer-
ment in the church ; which comprehended all the
h thereof] Omitted in MS. * had] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON.
governors, superiors, and fellows, in all the col- 1662.
leges and halls of either university, and all school-""
masters and the like, who are subservient towards
learning. Every such person was to declare " his
" unfeigned assent and consent to all and every
" thing contained and prescribed in and by the book
" entitled The Book of Common Prayer," &c. The
subscription was generally thought so reasonable,
that it scarce met with any opposition in either
house. But when it came abroad, and was to be
submitted to, all the dissenting brethren cried out,
" that it was a snare to catch them, to say that
" which could not consist wTith their consciences k."
They took great pains to distinguish and to make
great difference between assent and consent : " they
" could be content to read the book in the manner
" they were obliged to do, which shewed their con-
" sent ; but declaring their unfeigned assent to every
" thing contained and prescribed therein would im-
" ply, that they were so fully convinced in their
" judgments, as to think that it was so perfect, that
" nothing therein could be amended, which for their
" part they thought there might. That there were
" many expressions in the rubric, which they were
" not bound to read ; yet by this assent they de-
" clared their approbation thereof." But after many
tedious discourses of this tyrannical imposition, they
grew by degrees ashamed of it ; and were persuaded
to think, that assent and consent had so near the
same signification, that they could hardly consent to
do what they did not assent to : so * that the chiefest
k consciences] conscience ' so] Not in MS,
K 3
134 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. amongst them, to avoid a very little inconvenience,
subscribed the same.
The bin But there was shortly after another clause added,
the lords, that gave them trouble indeed. When the bill had
passed the lords' house, it was sent of course to the
commons ; where though all the factions in religion
had too many friends, for the most contrary and op-
posite one to another always were united and recon-
ciled against the church, yet they who were zealous
for the government, and who hated all the other fac-
tions at least enough, were very much superior in
number and in reputation. And the bill was no sooner
read there, than every man according to his passion
thought of adding somewhat to it, that might make
it more grievous to somebody whom he did not
love ; which made the discourses tedious and vehe-
ment and full of animosity. And at last they agreed
meats made , i • i , • t ,1 i • ,•
by the upon a clause, which contained another subscription
commons.
°
an(^ declaration, which every man m was to make
before he could n be admitted into any benefice or
ecclesiastical promotion, or to be a governor or fellow
in either of the universities. He must first declare,
'* that it is not lawful, upon any pretence whatsoever,
" to take arms against the king ; and that he doth
" abhor that traitorous position of taking arms by
" his authority against his person, or against those
" that are commissioned by him ; and that he will
" conform to the Liturgy of the church of England,
" as it is now by law established." And he doth
declare, " that he doth hold there v lies no obligation
" upon him, or on any other person, from the oath
m man] Omitted in MS. ° or] of
" could] can P there] that there
v EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 135
" commonly called The solemn League and Covenant, 1 662.
" to endeavour any change or alteration of govern-""
" ment, either in church or state ; and that the same
" was in itself an unlawful oath, and imposed upon
" the subjects of this realm against the known laws
" and liberties of the kingdom ;" with some other
clauses, which need not be mentioned, because they
were afterwards left out. And with this addition, The bin re-
and some other alterations, they returned the bill the lords.
again to the lords for their approbation.
The framing and forming this clause had taken
up very much time, and raised no less passion in the
house of commons ; and now it came among the
lords, it was not less troublesome. It added to the
displeasure and jealousy against the bishops, by
whom it was thought to be prepared, and com-
mended to their party in the lower house. Many
lords, who had taken the covenant, were not so
much concerned that the clergy (for whom only this
act was prepared) should be obliged to make this
declaration ; but apprehended more, that when such
a clause should be once passed in one act of parlia-
ment, it could not after be disputed, and so would
be inserted into all other acts which related to the
.function of any other offices, and so would in a short
time be required of themselves. And therefore they Debates
. . . , upon the
opposed it warmly, " as a thing unnecessary, and amend-
" which would widen the breach, instead of closing ™ye"hs n
" up the wounds that had been made ; which the
" king had made it his business to do, and the par-
" liament had hitherto concurred with his majesty
" in that endeavour. That many men would believe
" or fear, (which in such a case is the same,) that
" this clause might prove a breach of the act of in-
K 4
e com-
mons.
136 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. " demnity, which had not only provided against in-
"~" dictments and suits at law and penalties, but
" against reproaches for what was past, which this
" clause would be understood to give new life to.
" For what concerned the conformity to the Liturgy
" of the church as it is now established, it is pro-
" vided for as fully in the former subscription in this
" act, and therefore is impertinent in this place.
" That the covenant contained many good things
" in it, as defending the king's person, and main-
" taining the protestant religion : and therefore to
" say that there lies no obligation from ^ it, would
" neither be for the service of the king or the in-
" terest of the church ; especially since it was well
" known, that it had wrought upon the conscience
" of many to serve the king in the late revolution,
tf from which his majesty had received great advan-
" tage. However it was now dead, all men were
" absolved from taking it, nor could it be imposed
" or offered to any man without punishment ; and
" they, who had in the ill times been forced to take
" it, did now inviolably and cheerfully perform «11
" the duties of allegiance and fidelity to his majesty.
" If it had at any time produced any good, that was
" an excuse for the irregularity of it : it could do
" no mischief for the future ; and therefore that it
" was time to bury it in oblivion."
Many men believed, that though they insisted
principally on that part which related to the cove-
nant, they r were in truth more afflicted with the
first part ; in which it was declared, " that it was
" not lawful, upon any pretence whatsoever, to take
i from] upon r they] that they
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 137
"arms against the king; and that he doth abhor 1662.
" that traitorous position s of taking arms by his au- ~~
" thority against his person :" which conclusions
had been the principles which supported their rebel-
lion, and by which they had imposed upon the peo-
ple, and got their concurrence. They r durst not
oppose this, because the parliament had already by
a former act declared the law to be so in those par-
ticulars : yet this went much nearer to them, that
by their own particular declaration (for they looked
upon it as that which in a short time must be their
own) they should upon the matter confess them-
selves to have been traitors, which they had not yet
been declared to have been ; and no man could now
justify the calling them so.
They who were most solicitous that the house
should concur with the commons in this addition,
had fieldroom enough to expatiate upon the gross
iniquity of the covenant. They made themselves
very merry with the allegation, " that the king's
" safety and the interest of the church were provided
" for by the covenant, when it had been therefore
" entered into, to fight against the king and to de-
" stroy the church. That there was no one lawful
" or honest clause in the covenant, that was not
" destroyed or made of no signification by the next
" that succeeded ; and if it were not, the same obli-
" gation was better provided for by some other
" oaths, which the same men had or ought to have
" taken, and which ought to have restrained them
" from taking the covenant : and therefore it may
" justly be pronounced, that there is no obligation
i
s position] proposition
138 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. " upon any man from thence. That there was no
~~ " breach of the act of indemnity, nor any reproach
" upon any man for having taken it, except what
" would result from his own conscience. But that
" it was most absolutely necessary, for the safety of
" the king's person, and the peace of the kingdom,
" that they who had taken it should declare, that
" they do not believe themselves to be bound by it :
" otherwise they may still think, that they may
" fight against the king, and must conspire the de-
" struction of the church. And they cannot take
" too much care, or use too much diligence, to dis-
" cover who are of that opinion ; that they may be
" strictly looked unto, and restrained from doing
" that which they take themselves obliged to do.
" That the covenant is not dead, as was alleged, but
" still retains great vigour ; was still the idol to
" which the presbyterians sacrificed : and that there
" must and would always be a general jealousy of
" all those who had taken it, until they had de-
" clared that it did not bind them ; especially of the
4< clergy, who had so often enlarged in their pulpits,
** how absolutely and indispensably all men were fc
" obliged to prosecute the endu of it, which is to de-
" stroy the church, whatever danger it brings the
" king's person to. And therefore they of all men
" ought to be glad of this opportunity that was of-
" fered, to vindicate their loyalty and obedience ;
" and if they were not ready to do so, they were
" not fit to be trusted with the charge and care of
" the souls of the king's subjects."
And in truth there were not any more importu-
1 were] are " end] ends
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 139
nate for the enjoining this declaration, than many 1662.
who had taken the covenant. Many who had neverThelcrds
taken it, and had always detested it, and paid consen* to
* most of llic
soundly for being known to do so, were yet veryamend-
. nients.
sorry that it was inserted at this time and in this
place ; for they foresaw it would make divisions,
and keep up the several factions, which would have
been much weakened, and in a short time brought
to nothing, if the presbyterians had been separated
from the rest, who did perfectly hate and were as
perfectly hated by all the rest. But since it was
brought upon the stage, and it had been the subject
of so much debate, they believed the house of lords
could not now refuse to concur with the commons,
"without undergoing some reproach and scandal of
not x having an ill opinion enough of the covenant ;
of which as they were in no degree guilty, so they
thought it to be of mischievous consequence to be
suspected to be so. And therefore, after they had
expunged some other parts of that subscription
which had been annexed to it, and mended some
other expressions in other places, which might ra-
ther irritate than compose those humours which al-
ready boiled too much, they returned the bill to the
house of commons ; which submitted to all that they The com-
had done : and so it was presented to the king, who JriuTthT*
could not well refuse his royal assent, nor did in hislords'
... The king
own judgment or inclination dislike what was offered confirms
, . the bill.
to him.
By this act of uniformity there was an end put to
all the liberty and license, which had been practised
in all churches from the time of his majesty's re-
* not] Not in MS.
140 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. turn, and by his declaration that he had emitted
~~ afterwards. The Common Prayer must now be con-
stantly read in all churches, and no other form ad-
mitted : and what clergyman soever did not fully
conform to whatsoever was contained in that book,
or enjoined by the act of uniformity, by or before
St. Bartholomew-day, which was about three months
after the act was published ; he was ipso facto de-
prived of his benefice, or any other spiritual promo-
tion of which he stood possessed, and the patron was
to present another in his place, as if he were dead:
so that it was not in the king's power to give any
dispensation to any man, that could preserve him
against the penalty in the act of uniformity.
This act was no sooner published, (for I am will-
ing to continue this relation to the execution of it,
because there were some intervening accidents that
were not understood,) than all the presbyterian min-
isters expressed their disapprobation of it with all
The presby. the passion imaginable. They complained, " that
terian min- r J r
isters com- " the king had violated his promise made to them
" in his declaration from Breda," which was urged
with great uningenuity, and without any shadow of
ration. right; for his majesty had thereby referred the
whole settlement of all things relating to religion, to
the wisdom of parliament ; and declared, " in the
" mean time, that nobody should be punished or
" questioned, for continuing the exercise of his re-
" ligion in the way he had been accustomed to in the
" late confusions." And his majesty had continued
this indulgence by his declaration after his return,
and thereby fully complied witji his promise from
Breda ; which he should indeed have violated, if he
had now refused to concur in the settlement the
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 141
parliament had agreed upon, being in truth no less 1662.
obliged to concur with the parliament in the settle- ~~
ment that the parliament should propose to him,
than he was not to cause any man to be punished
for not obeying the former laws, till a new settle-
ment should be made. But how evident soever this
truth is, they would not acknowledge it ; but armed
their proselytes with confident assertions, and un-
natural interpretations of the words in the king's
declaration, as if the king were bound to grant li-
berty of conscience, whatever the parliament should
or should not desire, that is, to leave all men to live
according to their own humours and appetites, let
what laws soever be made to the contrary. They
declared, " that they could not with a good con-
" science either subscribe the one or the other de-
" claration : they could not say that they did assent
" or consent in the first, nor declare in the second
f< that there remained no obligation from the cove-
" nant ; and therefore that they were all resolved to
" quit their livings, and to depend upon Providence
" for their subsistence."
There cannot be a better evidence of the general The act '"„
general well
affection of the kingdom, than that this act of par- received,
liament had so concurrent an approbation of the
two houses of parliament, after a suppression of that
form of devotion for near twenty years, and the
highest discountenance and oppression of all those
who were known to be devoted or affected to it. And
from the time of the king's return, when it was law-
ful to use it, though it was not enjoined, persons of
all conditions flocked to those churches where it
was used. And it was by very many sober men be-
lieved, that if the presbyterians and the other fac-
142 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. tions in religion had been only permitted to exercise
~ their own ways, without y any countenance from the
court, the heart of all the factions against the church
would have been broken, before the parliament did
so fully declare itself.
Reflections And there cannot be a greater manifestation of
on the be- D
of the distemper and license of the time, than the pre-
- sumption of those presbyterian ministers, in the
opposing and contradicting an act of parliament;
when there was scarce a man in that number, who
had not. been so great a promoter of the rebellion,
or contributed so much to it, that they had no
other title to their lives but by the king's mercy ;
and there z were very few amongst them, who had
not come into the possession of the churches they
now held, by the expulsion of the orthodox min-
isters who were lawfully possessed of them, and who
being by their imprisonment, poverty, and other
kinds of oppression and contempt during so many
years, departed this life, the usurpers remained un-
disturbed in their livings, and thought it now the
highest tyranny to be removed from them, though
for offending the law, and disobedience to the go-
vernment. That those men should give themselves
an act of oblivion of all their transgressions and
wickedness, and take upon them again to pretend a
liberty of conscience against the government, which
they had once overthrown upon their pretences ;
was such an impudence, as could not have fallen
into the hearts even of those men from the stock of
their own malice, without some great defect in the
government, and encouragement or countenance
v "without] with 7 there] that there
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 143
from the highest powers. The king's too gracious 1662.
disposition and easiness of access, as hath been said ~~
before, had from the beginning raised their hopes
and dispelled their fears ; whilst his majesty pro-
mised himself a great harvest in their conversion, by
his gentleness and affability. And they insinuated
themselves by a profession, " that it was more the
" regard of his service, than any obstinacy in them-
" selves, which kept them from conformity to what
" the law had enjoined ; that they might still pre-
" serve their credit with their parishioners, and by
" degrees bring them to a perfect obedience :" where-
as indeed all the corruption was in the clergy ; and
where a prudent and orthodox man was in the pul-
pit, the people very willingly heard the Common
Prayer.
Nor did this confidence leave them, after the pass- They have
ing and publishing this act of uniformity : but the access^
London ministers, who had the government of those th
in the country, prevailed with the general (who
without any violent inclinations of his own was al-
ways ready for his wife's sake) to bring them to the
king, who always received them with too much cle-
mency, and dismissed them with too much hope.
They lamented " the sadness of their condition,
" which (after having done so much service to his
" majesty, and been so graciously promised by him
" his protection) must now be exposed to all misery
" and famine." They told him " what a vast num-
" ber of churches" (five times more than was true)
" would become void by this act, which would not
" prove for his service ; and that they much feared,
" the people would not continue as quiet and peace-
" able as they had been under their oversight." They
144 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. used all the arguments they thought might work
~~ upon him ; and he seemed to be the more moved,
because he knew that it was not in his power to
help them. He told them, " he had great compas-
" sion for them ; and was heartily sorry that the
" parliament had been so severe towards them,
" which he would remit, if it were in his power ;
" and therefore that they should advise with their
" friends, and that if they found that it would be in
" his power to give them any ease, they should find
" him inclined to gratify them in whatsoever they
" desired :" which gracious expressions raised their
spirits as high as ever ; and they reported to their
friends much more than in truth the king had said
to them, (which was no new artifice with them,)
and advised their friends in all parts " to be firm to
" their principles," and assured them, " that the ri-
" gour of the act of parliament should not be pressed
" against them."
It cannot be denied, that the king was too irre-
solute, and apt to be shaken in those counsels which
with the greatest .deliberation a he had concluded,
by too easily permitting, or at least not restraining,
any men who waited upon him, or were present
with him in his recesses, to examine and censure
what was resolved ; an infirmity that brought him
many troubles, and exposed his ministers to ruin :
though in his nature, judgment, and inclinations, he
did detest the presbyterians ; and by the experience
he had of their faculties, pride, and insolence in
Scotland, had brought from thence such an abhor-
rence of them, that for their sakes he thought
a deliberation] declaration
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 145
better of any of the other factions. Nor had he any ] 662.
kindness for any person whom he suspected to ad-
here to them : for the lord Lautherdale took all
pains to be thought no presby terian ; . and pleased
himself better with no humour, than laughing at
that people, and telling ridiculous stories of their
folly and fold corruptions. Yet the king, from the
opinion he had of their great power to do him good
or harm, which was oftentimes unskilfully insinuated
to him by men who he knew were not of their*
party, but were really deceived themselves by a
wrong computation and estimate of their interest,
was not willing to be thought an enemy to them.
And there were too many bold speakers about the
court, too often admitted into his presence, who be-
ing without any sense of religion, thought all rather
ought to be permitted, than to undergo any trouble
and disturbance on the behalf of any one.
The continued address and importunity of these
ministers, as St. Bartholomew's day approached
nearer, more disquieted the king. They enlarged
with many words " on the great joy that they and
" all their friends had received, from the compas-
" sion his majesty so graciously had expressed on
" their behalf, which they would never forget, or
" forfeit by any undutiful carriage." They confessed
" that they found, upon conference with their friends
" who wished them well, and upon perusal of the
" act of parliament, that it was not in his majesty's
" power to give them so much protection against
" the penalty of the act of parliament, as they had
" hoped, and as his great goodness was inclined to
" give them. But that it would be an unspeakable
" comfort to them, if his majesty's grace towards
VOL. II. L
146 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. " them were so manifested, that the people might
" discern that this extreme rigour was not grateful
" to him, but that he could be well content if it
" were for some time suspended ; and therefore they
" were humble suitors to him, that he would by his
" letters to the bishops, or by a proclamation, or an
" act of council, or any other way his majesty should
" think fit, publish his desire that the execution of
" the act of uniformity, as to all but the reading of
" the Liturgy, which they would conform to, might
" be suspended for three months ; and that he would
" take it well from the bishops or any of the pa-
" trons, who would so far comply with his desire, as
" not to take any advantage of those clauses in the
" statute, which gave them authority to present as
" in a vacancy. They doubted not there would be
" many, who would willingly submit to his majesty's
" pleasure : but whatever the effect should be, they
" would pay the same humble acknowledgments to
" his majesty, as if it had produced all that they
" desired."
Whether his majesty thought it would do them
no good, and therefore that it was no matter if he
granted it; or that he thought it no prejudice to
the church, if the act were suspended for three
months ; or that he was willing to redeem himself
from the present importunity, (an infirmity he was
too often guilty of;) true it is, he did make them a
The king positive promise, " that he would do what they de-
" sired ;" with which they were abundantly satis-
d, and renewed their encouragement to their
friends " to persevere to the end." And this pro-
mise was solemnly given to them in the presence of
the general, who was to solicit the king's despatch,
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 147
that his pleasure might be known in due time. It 1662.
was now the long vacation, and few of the council
were then in town, or of the bishops, with whom
his majesty too late thought it necessary to confer,
that such an instrument might be prepared as was
fit for the affair. Hereupon the king told the chan-
cellor (who was not thought friend enough to the
presbyterians to be sooner communicated with) all
that had passed, what the ministers had desired,
and what he had promised ; and bade him " to
" think of the best way of doing it."
The chancellor was one of those, who would have
been glad that the act had not been clogged with
many of those clauses, which he foresaw might pro-
duce some inconveniences; but when it was passed, he
thought it absolutely necessary to see obedience paid
to it without any connivance : and therefore, as he
had always dissuaded the king from giving so much
countenance to those applications, which he always
knew published more to be said than in truth was
ever spoken, and was the more troubled for this
progress they had made with the king ; he told his
majesty, " that it was not in his power to preserve
" those men, who did not submit to do all that was
" to be done by the act, from deprivation." He
gave many reasons which occurred, why " such a
" declaration as was desired would prove ineffectual
" to the end for which it was desired,, and what
" inconveniences would result from attempting it."
His majesty alleged many reasons for the doing it,
which he had received from those who desired it,
and seemed sorry that they were no better ; how-
ever concluded, " that he had engaged his word, and
" that he would perform what he had promised ;"
L 2
148 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. and required him not to oppose it. The chancellor
~~ had always been very tender of his honour ; and ad-
vised him " to be very wary in making any promise,
" but when he had made it, to perform it, though
" to his disadvantage :" and it was no new thing to
him, to be reproached for opposing the resolving to
do such or such a thing, and then to be reproached
again for pursuing the resolution.
The king was at Hampton-court, and sent for
the archbishop of Canterbury, the bishops of London
and of Winchester, to attend him, with the chief
justice Bridgman, and the attorney general : there
were likewise the chancellor, the general, the duke
of Ormond, and the secretaries. His majesty ac-
quainteol them with " the importunities used by the
" London ministers, and the. reasons they had of-
" fered why a further time should be given to them
" to consider of what was so new to them ; and
" what answer he had given to them ; and how they
" had renewed their importunity with a desire of
" such a declaration from him as is mentioned be-
" fore, in which he thought there was no inconve-
HC endea- " nience, and therefore had promised to do it, and
vours to
fulfil his " called them now together to advise of the best
" way of doing it." The bishops were very much
troubled, that those fellows should still presume to
give his majesty so much vexation, and that they
should have such access to him. They gave such
arguments against the doing what was desired, as
could not be answered; and for themselves, they
desired " to be excused for not conniving in any
" degree at the breach of the act of parliament,
" either by .not presenting a clerk where themselves
" were patrons, or deferring to give institution upon
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 149
" the presentation of others b : and that his majesty's 1 662.
" giving such a declaration or recommendation would ~~
" be the greatest wound to the church, and to the
" government thereof, that it could receive."
The chancellor, who did really believe that the
king and his service would suffer more by the breach
of his word and promise, than either could do from
doing the thing desired, confessed " that he believed
" it would do them little good, which would not be
" imputed to his majesty, when he had done all he
" could do ; and that it would be a greater conform-
" ity, if the ministers generally performed what they
" offered to do, in reading all the service of the
" church, than had been these many years ; and that
" once having done what was known to be so con-
" trary to their inclinations, would be an engage-
" ment upon them in a short time to comply with
" the rest of their obligations : and therefore," he
said, " he should not dissuade his majesty from do-
" ing what he had promised ;" which indeed he had
good reason to think he was resolved to do, what-
ever he was advised to the contrary. The king de-
manded the judgment of the lawyers, " whether he
" could legally dispense with the observation of the
" act for three months;" who answered, " that not- But finds it
" withstanding any thing he could do in their fa-p°wer.
" vour, the patrons might present their clerk as if
" the incumbents were dead, upon their not-perform-
" ance of what they were enjoined." Upon the
whole matter the king was converted; and with
great bitterness against that people in general, and
against the particular persons whom he had always
b of others] Not in MS.
L 3
150 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. received too graciously, concluded that he would not
~" do what was desired, and that the connivance should
not be given to any of them.
The bishops departed full of satisfaction with the
king's resolution, and as unsatisfied with their friend
the chancellor's inclination to gratify that people,
not knowing the engagement that was upon him.
And this jealousy produced a greater coldness from
some of them towards him, and a greater resent-
ment from him, who thought he had deserved better
from their function and their persons, than was in
a long time, if ever, perfectly reconciled. Yet he
never declined in the least degree his zeal for the
government of the church, or the interest of those
The great persons ; nor thought they could be blamed for their
uuiTy§ofthesever*ty against those ministers, who were surely
presbyte- ^he proudest malefactors, and the most incapable of
nan mm- i
isters. being gently treated, of any men living. For if any
of the bishops used them kindly, and endeavoured
to persuade them to conformity, they reported " that
" they had been caressed and flattered by the bishops,
" and offered great preferments, which they had
" bravely refused to accept for the preservation of a
" good conscience :" and in reports of this kind, few
of them ever observed any rules of ingenuity or
sincerity.
They en- When they saw that they were to expect and
ndsedis-0 undergo the worst, they agreed upon a method to
the people! ^ observed by them in the leaving and parting with
their pulpits : and the last Sunday they were to
preach, they endeavoured to infuse murmur, jealousy,
and sedition, into the hearts of their several audito-
ries ; and to prepare them " to expect and bear with
" patience and courage all the persecutions which
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 151
** were like to follow, now the light of the gospel 1662.
" was so near being extinguished." And all those""
sermons they called their farewell sermons, and
caused to be printed together, with every one of the
preachers' pictures before their sermons ; which in
truth contained all the vanity and ostentation with
reference to themselves, and all the insinuations to
mutiny and rebellion, that could be warily couched
in words which could not be brought within penalty
of law, though their meaning was well understood.
When the time was expired, better men were put
into their churches, though with much murmuring
of some of their parishes for a time, increased by
their loud clamour, " that they had been betrayed
" by the king's promise that they should have three
" months longer time :" which drew the like clamour
upon them by those, who had hearkened to their
advice in continuing their obstinacy in confidence of
a dispensation ; whereas otherwise they would have
conformed, as very many of their party did. And
many of the other who were cozened by them, and
so lost the livings they had, made all the haste they
could to make themselves capable of getting others,
by as full subscriptions and conformity as the act of
uniformity required. And the greatest of them, At length
after some time, and after they found that the pri-JJ^ "on-
vate bounty and donatives, which at first flowed inform-
upon them in compassion of their sufferings and to .
keep up their courages, every day begun to slacken,
and would in the end expire, subscribed to those
very declarations, which they had urged as the
greatest motives to their nonconformity. And the
number was very small, and of very weak and in-
considerable men, that continued refractory, and
L 4
152 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. received no charge in the church: though it may
""without breach of charity be believed, that many
who did subscribe had the same malignity to the
church, and to the government of it ; and it may be
did more harm, than if they had continued in their
inconformity.
Great ani- The long time spent in both houses upon the act
of uniformity had made the progress of all other
public business much the slower; or rather, the
multitude of private bills which depended there,
(and with which former parliaments had been very
rarely troubled,) and the bitterness and animosities
which arose from thence, exceedingly disquieted and
discomposed the house ; every man being so much
concerned for the interest of his friends or allies,
that he was more solicitous for the despatch of those,
than of any which related to the king and the pub-
lic, which he knew would by a general concurrence
be all passed before the session should be made;
whereas if the other should be deferred, the session
would quickly follow, (which the king by frequent
messages desired to hasten, having received news
already of the queen's having been at sea many
days,) and the benefit of those pretences would be
lost, and with greater difficulty be recovered in a
succeeding session. Then as those private bills were
for the particular benefit and advantage of some per-
sons, which engaged all their friends to be very so-
licitous for their despatch ; so for the most part they
were to the loss and damage of other persons, who
likewise called in aid of all their friends to prevent
the houses' consent: and by this means so many
factions were kindled in both houses, between those
who drove on the interest of their own or of their
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 153
relations, who mutually looked upon one another as 1662.
enemies, and against those who for justice and the""
dignity of parliament would have rejected all or most
of the addresses of that kind ; that in most debates
which related to neither, the custom of contradic-
tion, and the aversion to persons, very much dis-
turbed and prolonged all despatch.
It cannot be denied, that after a civil war of so
many years, prosecuted with that height of malice
and revenge ; so many houses plundered and so
many burned, in which the evidences of many estates
were totally destroyed, and as many by the unskil-
ful providence of others, who in order to preserve
them had buried their writings so unwarily under
ground, that they were taken up so defaced or rotted,
that they could not be pleaded in any court of jus-
tice ; many who had followed the king in the war,
and so made themselves liable to those penalties
which the parliament had prepared for them and
subjected them to, had made many feigned convey-
ances, with such limitations and so absolutely, (that
no trust might be discovered by those who had power
to avoid it,) that they were indeed too absolute to
be avoided by themselves, and their estates become
so much out of their own disposal, that they could
neither apply them to the payment of their just
debts, or to the provision for their children ; I say,
there were many such cases, which could be no other
way provided for but by an act of parliament, and
to which an act of parliament, without too much
severity and rigour, could not be denied. And
against any of those there appeared none or very
little opposition to be made.
But the example and precedent of such drew
154 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF -
1662. with them a world of unreasonable pretences ; and
"they, who were not in a condition to receive relief
in any court of justice, thought they had a ground
to appeal to parliament. They who had been com-
pelled, for raising the money they were forced to pay
for their delinquency, to sell land, and could not
sell it but at a very low value, (for it was one spe-
cies of the oppression of that time, that when a
powerful man had an aspect upon the land of any
man who was to compound, and so in view like to
sell it, no other man would offer any money for it,
so that he was sure at last to have it upon his own
price ;) now all that monstrous power was vanished,
they who had made those unthrifty bargains and
sales, though with all the formalities of law, by fines
and recoveries and the like, (which is all the secu-
rity that can be given upon a purchase,) especially
if the purchaser was of an ill name, came with all
imaginable confidence to the parliament, to have
their land restored to them c. Every man had
raised an equity in his own imagination, that he
thought ought to prevail against any descent, testa-
ment, or act of law ; and that whatever any man
had been brought to do, which common reason
would make manifest that he would never have
done if he could have chosen, was argument suf-
ficient of such a force, and ought to find relief in
parliament, from the unbounded equity they were
masters of and could dispense, whatever formalities
of law had preceded or accompanied the transaction.
And whoever opposed those extravagant notions,
which sometimes deprived men of the benefit of the
c them] him
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 155
act of oblivion, was thought to be without justice, 1662.
or which to them was worse, to be without any""
kindness to the king's party. And without ques-
tion, upon those motives, or others as unreasonable,
many acts were passed of very ill example, and
which many men were scandalized at in the pre-
sent, and posterity will more censure hereafter,
when infants who were then unborn shall find
themselves disinherited of those estates, which their
ancestors had carefully provided should descend to
them ; upon which irregularities the king made re-
flection when he made the session.
But notwithstanding all these incongruities, and The pariia-
, .,. .. -i • i 111 i ment pro-
the indispositions which attended them, they per- ceeds with
formed all those respects towards the king, which
he did or could expect from them ; there being king
scarce a man, who opposed the granting any thing
that was proposed for the benefit of his majesty, or
the greatness of the crown : and though some of
the particulars mentioned before did sometimes in-
tervene, to hinder and defer the present resolutions
and conclusions in those counsels, the resolutions
and conclusions in a short time after succeeded ac-
cording to the king's wish. The militia and many
other regalities were declared and settled according
to the original sense of the law, and the authority
of the crown vindicated to the height it had been at
upon the heads of the greatest kings who had ever
reigned in the nation. Monies were raised by seve-
ral bills, sufficient as they conceived to have paid
all the debts the king or the kingdom owed ; for in
their computations they comprehended the debts
that were owing before his majesty's return, and for
which the public faith had been engaged : and if as
156 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. much had been paid as they conceived they had
""given, probably it might have been enough to have
discharged all those. They settled a constant re-
venue upon the crown, which according to the esti-
mate they made would amount to the yearly re-
venue of twelve hundred thousand pounds, a pro-
portion double to what it was in the reign of queen
Elizabeth, and it may be of any king preceding ;
and declared, " that if it did not amount to that full
" value, they would supply it at another meeting."
And though it hath not in truth amounted to that
sum in his majesty's receipts, the parliament hath
imputed it rather to ill managery, and letting farms
at too easy rates, than to an error in their computa-
tion. For the present, it was looked upon by the
king and by his ministers as answerable to his ex-
pectation. And so, upon notice of the queen's
being upon the coast, and afterwards of her arrival
at Portsmouth, the king appointed the houses to
present all their bills to him upon the nineteenth of
May for his royal assent, it being few days above a
year from the time of their being first convened.
When the king came to the parliament, and they
had presented the great number of bills which they
had prepared, and after he had given his royal as-
The king's sent to most of them, his majesty told them, " that
" h£ tnought there had been very few sessions of
« parliament, in which there had been so many bills,
" as he had passed that day : • he was confident.
" never so many private bills, which he hoped they
" would not draw into example. It was true," he
said, " the late ill times had driven men into great
" straits, and might have obliged them to make
" conveyances colourably, to avoid inconveniences,
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 157
" and yet not afterwards to be avoided ; and men j 662.
" had gotten estates by new and greater frauds than
" had been heretofore practised ; and therefore in
" this conjuncture extraordinary remedies might be
" necessary; which had induced him to comply
" with their advice in passing those bills : but he
" prayed them that this should be rarely done here-
" after : that the good old rules of the law are the
" best security ; and he wished that men might not
" have too much cause to fear, that the settlements
" which they make of their estates shall be too ea-
" sily unsettled when they are dead by the power
" of parliament."
He said, " they had too much obliged him, not
" only in the matter of those bills which concerned
" his revenue, but in the manner of passing them,
" with so great affection and kindness, that he knew
" not how to thank them enough. He did assure
" them, and prayed them to assure their friends in
*' the country, that he would apply all that they had
" given to him, to the utmost improvement of the
" peace and happiness of the kingdom ; and that he
" would, with the best advice and good husbandry
" he could, bring his own expenses within a nar-
" rower compass." And he said, " now he was
" speaking to them of his own good husbandry, he
" must tell them, that would not be enough ; he
" could not but observe, that the whole nation
" seemed to him a little corrupted in their excess
" of living. All men spend much more in their
" clothes, in their diet, in all their expenses, than
" they had used to do. He hoped it had only been
" the excess of joy after so long sufferings, that had
" transported him and them to those other ex-
158 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. " cesses; but," he desired them, "vthat they might
~ " all take heed that the continuance of them did not
" indeed corrupt their natures. He did believe that
" he had been that way very faulty himself: he
" promised that he would reform, and that if they
"would join with him in their several capacities,
" they would by their examples do more good, both
" in city and country, than any new laws would
" do." He said many other good things that pleased
them, and no doubt he intended all he said ; but the
ways and expedients towards good husbandry were
no where pursued.
The chan. The chancellor, by the king's command, enlarged
cellor's "
speech. upon " the general murmurs upon the expense, and
" that it should so much exceed all former times."
He put them in mind, " how the crown had been
" used since those times, how the king had found it
" at his blessed return : that as soon as he came hi-
" ther, besides the infinite sums that he forgave, he
" gave more money to the people than he had since
" received from them," (he meant, I suppose, the
release of all the rents, debts, and receipts which
were due to him ;) " that at least two parts of three
" that they had since given him had issued for the
" disbanding of armies never raised by him, and for
" payment of fleets never sent out by him, and of
" debts never incurred by him." He put them in
mind " of the vast disparity between the former
" times and these in which they now lived, and
" consequently of d the disproportion in the expense
" the crown was now at, for the protection and be-
" nefit of the subject, to what it formerly under-
'• of] in
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 159
" went. How great a difference there was in the 15(52.
" present greatness and power of the two crowns,
" and what they had been then possessed of, was
" evident to all men ; and if the greatness and power
" of the crown of England should not be in some
" proportion improved too, it might be liable to in-
" conveniences it would not undergo alone. How
" our neighbours and our rivals, who court one and
" the same mistress, trade and commerce, with all
" the world, are advanced in shipping, power, and
" an immoderate desire to engross the whole traffick
" of the universe, was notorious enough ; and that
" this unruly appetite would not be restrained or
" disappointed, nor the trade of the nation be sup-
" ported and maintained, with the same fleets and
tf forces which had been maintained in the happy
" times of queen Elizabeth. He needed not speak
" of the naval power of the Turks, who, instead of
" sculking abroad in poor single ships as they were
" wont to do, domineer now on the ocean in strong
" fleets, make naval fights, and had brought some
" Christians to a better correspondence, and another
" kind of commerce and traffick with them, than was
" expected," (for at that time the Dutch had made a
low and dishonourable peace with the pirates of Al-
giers and Tunis :) " insomuch as they apprehend no
" enemy upon the sea, but what they find in the
" king of England's ships, which had indeed brought
*' no small damage upon them, with no small charge
" to the king, but a great reputation to the nation.
" He did assure them, that the charge the crown
" was then at, by sea and land, for the peace and
" security and wealth and honour of the nation,
" amounted to no less than eight hundred thousand
160 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 662. " pounds in the year ; all which did not cost the
~ " crown before the late troubles fourscore thousand
" pounds the year : and therefore that nobody could
" blame them for any supply they had given, or
" addition they had made to the revenue of the
" crown." He told them, " that the new acquisi-
" tions of Dunkirk, Mardike, Tangier, Jamaica, and
" Bombayne, ought to be looked upon as jewels of
" an immense magnitude in the royal diadem ; and
" though they were of present expense, they were
" like in a short time, with God's blessing, to bring
" vast advantages to the trade, navigation, wealth.
" and honour of the king and kingdom. His ma-
" jesty had enough expressed his desire to live in a
" perfect peace and amity with all his neighbours ;
" nor was it an ill ingredient towards the firmness
" and stability of that peace and amity which his
" royal ancestors had held with them, that he hath
" some advantages in case of a war, which they were
The pariia- " without." The same day the parliament was pro-
roguedP.r°~ rogued to the eighteenth day of February following.
It was about the end of May, when the queen
came to Hampton-court. The earl of Sandwich,
after he had reduced those of Algiers and Tunis to
good conditions, went to Tangier, which was to be
delivered to him before he was to go to Lisbon for
The eari of the reception of the queen : and delivered to him it
Sandwich . .
takes pos- was, though by an accident that might have caused
Tangier! it to be delivered into another hand. There was
never the least doubt, but that the queen regent did
resolve religiously to perform all the conditions on
the part of Portugal ; and the government was yet
in her hands. But the king growing towards his
majority, and of a nature not like to comply long
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 161
with his mother's advice; factions began likewise to 1G62.
grow in that court. The delivery of Tangier, and "~
into the hands of heretics, was much murmured at ;
as like more to irritate the pope, who did already
carry himself towards them very unlike a common
father, notwithstanding the powerful interposition
of France, which, upon the peace lately made be-
tween the two crowns, was already ceased : so that
they now apprehended, that this new provocation
would give some excuse to the court of Rome, to
comply more severely with the importunities from
Spain, which likewise upon this occasion they were
sure would be renewed with all possible instance.
And though the queen had lately sent a governor
to Tangier, whom she therefore made choice of, as
a man devoted to her, and who would obey her
commands in the delivery of this place ; yet it is
certain, he went thither with a contrary resolution.
Very few days before the earl of Sandwich came A desisn of
. not giving
thither, the governor marched out with all the it up to him.
horse and above half the foot of the garrison into
the country, and fell into an ambush of the Moors,
who being much more numerous cut off the whole
party : and so the governor with so many of the
chief officers and soldiers being killed, the town was
left so weak, that if the Moors had pursued their
advantage with such numbers as they might, and
did intend within few days to bring with them, they
would have been able to have made little resistance.
And the earl of Sandwich coming happily thither
in that conjuncture, it e was delivered into his hands,
who convoyed the remainder of the garrison into
e it] Omitted in MS.
VOL. II. M
162 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. Portugal, where they were like to be stoned by the
~ people ; and then, having put a good garrison of
horse and foot which were sent from England into
it, he delivered it up to the earl of Peterborough,
who had a commission from the king to be governor
thereof; and himself with the fleet sailed to Lisbon,
where he had been long expected, and found his
house and equipage ready, he being then to appear
in the quality of extraordinary ambassador to de-
mand the queen.
He comes His arrival there happened likewise in a very
to Lisbon in , . _ .
a critical happy conjuncture ; for the Spanish army, stronger
ture.un than it had been before, was upon its march to be-
siege a seaport town, which lay so near Lisbon, that
being in the enemy's hands itf would very much
have infested their whole trade, and was not strong
enough long to have resisted so powerful an enemy.
But upon the fame of the English fleet's arrival,
the Spaniard gave over that design, and retired :
since as it was impossible that they should be able
to take that place, which the fleet was so ready to
relieve ; so they knew not but that the English
might make a descent into their own quarters,
which kept them from engaging before any other
town. But the alarum the march of that army had
given had so much disturbed Portugal, which never
keep their whole forces on foot, but draw them to-
gether upon such emergent occasions; that they
were compelled to make use of most of that money,
which they said had been laid up and should be kept
for the payment of the queen's portion, which was
to be transported with her into England.
1 it] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 163
Whereupon, after the ambassador had been re- 1662.
ceived with all possible demonstration of respect and ~
public joy, and had had his solemn audience from
the king and from the queen regent and the queen
his mistress ; and some English gentlemen of quality,
who were sent by the king, were admitted to those
places of attendance about the queen, to which his
majesty had assigned them : the queen mother, with
infinite apologies, told the ambassador, " that the The Portu.
" straits and poverty of the kingdom were & so great
" upon the late advance of the Spanish army, that
" there could at this present be only paid one half
" of the queen's portion, and that the other half
" should infallibly be paid within a year, with which
" she hoped the king her brother would be satisfied;
" and that for the better doing it, she resolved to
" send back the same ambassador, who had brought
" so good a work with God's blessing to so good an
" end, with her daughter to the king."
The earl of Sandwich was much perplexed, nor
did easily resolve what he was to do. His instruc-
tions were to receive the whole portion, which he
knew the king expected, and which they were not
able to pay. He had already received Tangier, and
left a strong garrison in it, and had neither author-
ity to restore it, nor wherewithal to carry back the
men. And at last, after he had used all the means
to have the whole paid, and was so fully informed,
that he did in truth believe that they could do no
more, he resolved that he would receive the queen
aboard the fleet. That which they were ready to
deliver for half the portion was not in money, but
^ were] was
M 2
CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. to be made up by jewels, sugar, and other commo-
""dities, which should not be overvalued. The am-
bassador was contented to give his receipt for the
several species of the money they would deliver,
leaving the value to be computed in England ; but
expressly refused to accept the jewels, sugar, and
merchandises at any rates or prices ; but was con-
tented to receive them on board the ships, and to
deliver them in specie at London to any person who
should be appointed by them to receive them, who
should be obliged to pay the money they were va-
lued ath, and to make up the whole sum that should
be paid to the king for the moiety. In conclusion,
all things were delivered on board the ships ; and
Diego Silvas, a Jew of great wealth and full credit
at Amsterdam, was sent with it, and obliged to
make even the account with the king's ministers at
London, and to pay what should remain due. And
a new obligation was entered into by the crown of
Portugal, for the payment of the other moiety with-
in the space of a year. And the queen with all her
court and retinue were embarked on board the fleet ;
and without any ill accidents her majesty arrived
The queen safely at Portsmouth : and having rested only three
England" or four days there, to recover the indisposition con-
tracted in so long a voyage at sea, her majesty/to-
gether with the king, came to Hampton-court at
the time mentioned before, the twenty-ninth of
May, the king's birthday, full two years after his
majesty's return and entering London.
Endeavours However the public joy of the kingdom was very
used to all- J. J J
enate the manifest upon this conjunction, yet in a short time
11 at] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 165
there appeared not that serenity in the court that 1662.
was expected. They who had formerly endeavoured king,s affec.
to prevent it. used ever after all the ill arts they t!ons from
* the queen.
could to make it disagreeable, and to alienate the
king's affection from the queen to such a degree,
that it might never be in her power to prevail with
him to their disadvantage ; an effect they had reason
to expect from any notable interest she might gain in
his affections, since she could not be uninformed by
the ambassador of the disservice they had formerly
endeavoured to do her.
There was a lady of youth and beauty, withSomecir-
. . . cumstances
whom the king had lived in great and notonous fa-thatcontri-
miliarity from the time of his coming into England,
and who, at the time of the queen's coming, or a
little before, had been delivered of a son whom thethem
king owned. And as that amour had been generally
taken notice of, to the lessening of the good reputa-
tion the king had with the people ; so it underwent
the less reproach from the king's being young, vi-
gorous, and in his full strength ; and upon a full
presumption that when he should be married, he
would contain himself within the strict bounds of
virtue and conscience. And that his majesty him-
self had that firm resolution, there want not many
arguments, as well from the excellent temper and
justice of his own nature, as from the professions he
had made with some solemnity to persons who were
believed to have much credit, and who had not failed
to do their, duty, in putting him in mind " of the
" infinite obligations he had to God Almighty, and
" that he expected another kind of return from him,
" in the purity of mind and integrity of life :" of
which his majesty was piously sensible, albeit there
M 3
166 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. was all possible pains taken by that company which
~ were admitted to his hours of pleasure, to divert
and corrupt all those impressions and principles,
which his own conscience and reverent esteem of
Providence did suggest to him ; turning all discourse
and mention of religion into ridicule, as if it were
only an invention of divines to impose upon men of
parts, and to restrain them from the Liberty and use
of those faculties which God and nature had given
them, that they might be subject to their reproofs
and determinations ; which kind of license was not
grateful to the king, and therefore warily and acci-
dentally used by those who had pleasant wit, and in
whose company he took too much delight.
The queen had beauty and wit enough to make
herself very agreeable to him ; and it is very cer-
tain, that at their first meeting, and for some time
after, the king had very good satisfaction in her, and
without doubt made very good resolutions within
himself, and promised himself a happy and an in-
nocent life in her company, without any such uxori-
ousness, as might draw the reputation upon him of
being governed by his wife, of which he had ob-
served or been too largely informed of some incon-
venient effects in the fortune of some of his nearest
friends, and had long protested against such a re-
signation ; though they who knew him well, did
not think him so much superior to such a conde-
scension, but that if the queen had had that craft
and address and dexterity that some former queens
had, she might have prevailed as far by degrees as
they had done. But the truth is, though she was
of years enough to have had more experience of the
world, and of as much wit as could be wished, and
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 167
of a humour very agreeable at some seasons; yet 1662.
she had been bred, according to the mode and dis-~
cipline of her country, in a monastery, where she
had only seen the women who attended her, and
conversed with the religious who resided there, and
without doubt in her inclinations was enough dis-
posed to have been one of that number. And from
this restraint she was called out to be a great queen,
and to a free conversation in a court that was to be
upon the matter new formed, and reduced from the
manners of a licentious age to the old rules and
limits which had been observed in better times ; and
to which regular and decent conformity the present
disposition of men or women was not enough in-
clined to, submit, nor the king enough disposed to
exact.
There was a numerous family of men and wo-
men that were sent from Portugal, the most improper
to promote that conformity in the queen that was
necessary for her condition and future happiness,
that could be chosen : the women for the most part
old and ugly and proud, incapable of any conversa-
tion with persons of quality and a liberal education.
And they desired 'and indeed had conspired so far
to possess the queen themselves, that she should nei-
ther learn the English language, nor use their habit,
nor depart from the manners and fashions of her
own country in any particulars ; " which resolution,"
they told her, " would be for the dignity of Portu-
" gal, and would quickly induce the English ladies
" to conform to her majesty's practice :" and this
imagination had made that impression, that the
tailor who had been sent into Portugal to make her
clothes, could never be admitted to see her or re-
M 4
168 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. ceive any employment. Nor when she came to
~~ Portsmouth, and found there several ladies of honour
and prime quality to attend her in the places to
which they were assigned by the king, did she re-
ceive any of them, till the king himself came ; nor
then with any grace, or the liberty that belonged to
their places and offices. She could not be persuaded
to be dressed out of the wardrobe that the king had
sent to her, but would wear the clothes which she
had brought, until she found that the king was dis-
pleased, and would be obeyed : whereupon she con-
formed against the advice of her women, who con-
tinued their opiniatrety, without any one of them
receding from their own mode, which exposed them
the more to reproach.
When the queen came to Hampton-court, she
brought with her a formed resolution, that she would
never suffer the lady who was so much spoken of to
be in her presence : and afterwards to those she
would trust she said, *' her mother had enjoined her
" so to do." On the other hand, the king thought
that he had so well prepared her to give her a civil
reception, that within a day or two after her ma-
jesty's being there, himself led her into her cham-
ber, and presented her to the queen, who received
her with the same grace as she had done the rest ;
there being many lords and other ladies at the same
time there. But whether her majesty in the in-
stant knew who she was, or upon recollection found
it afterwards, she was no sooner sat in her chair, but
her colour changed, and tears gushed out of her
eyes, and her nose bled, and she fainted ; so that
she was forthwith removed into another room, and
all the company retired out of that where she was
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 169
before. And this falling out so notoriously when so 1 662.
many persons were present, the king looked upon it~~
with wonderful indignation, and as an earnest of de-
fiance for the decision of the supremacy and who
should govern, upon which point he was the most
jealous and the most resolute of any man ; and the
answer he received from the queen, which kept up
the obstinacy, displeased him more. Now the
breach of the conditions grew matter of reproach ;
the payment of but half the portion was objected to
the ambassador, who would have been very glad
that the quarrel had been upon no other point. He
knew not what to say or do; the king being of-
fended with him for having said so much in Portu-
gal to provoke the queen, and not instructing her
enough to make her unconcerned in what had been
before her time, and in which she could not reason-
ably be concerned ; and the queen with more indig-
nation reproaching him with the character he had
given of the king, of his virtue and good-nature :
whilst the poor man, not able to endure the tempest
of so much injustice from both, thought it best to
satisfy both by dying ; and from the extreme afflic-
tion of mind which he underwent, he sustained such
a fever as brought him to the brink of his grave, till
some grace from both their majesties contributed
much to the recovery of his spirits.
In the mean time the king forbore her majesty's
company, and sought ease and refreshment in that
jolly company, to which in the evenings he grew
every day more indulgent, and in which there were
some, who desired rather to inflame than pacify his
discontent. And they found an expedient to vindi-
cate his royal jurisdiction, and to make it manifest
170 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 662. to the world, that he would not be governed ; which
could never without much artifice have got entrance
into his princely breast, which always entertained
the most tender affections ; nor was ever any man's
nature more remote from thoughts of roughness or
hardheartedness. They magnified the temper and
constitution of his grandfather, who indeed to all
other purposes was a glorious example : " that
" when he was enamoured, and found a return an-
" swerable to his merit, he did not dissemble his
" passion, nor suffered it to be matter of reproach
" to the persons whom he loved ; but made all
" others pay them that respect which he thought
" them worthy of: brought them to the court, and
" obliged his own wife the queen to treat them with
" grace and favour ; gave them the highest titles of
" honour, to draw reverence and application to them
" from all the court and all the kingdom ; raised
" the children he had by them to the reputation,
" state, and degree of princes of the blood, and con-
" ferred fortunes and offices upon them accordingly.
" That his majesty, who inherited the same pas-
" sionSj was without the gratitude and noble incli-
" nation to make returns proportionable to the obli-
" gations he received. That he had, by the charms
" of his person and of his professions, prevailed
" upon the affections and heart of a young and
" beautiful lady of a noble extraction, whose father
" had lost his life in the service of the crown. That
" she had provoked the jealousy and rage of her
" husband to that degree, that he had separated
" himself from her : and now the queen's indigna-
" tion had made the matter so notorious to the
" world, that the disconsolate lady had no place of
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 171
" retreat left, but must be made an object of infamy 1 662.
" and contempt to all her sex, and to the whole
" world."
Those discourses, together with a little boo"k
newly printed at Paris, according to the license of
that nation, of the amours of Henry IV. which was
by them presented to him, and too concernedly read
by him, made that impression upon his mind, that
he resolved to raise the quality and degree of that
lady, who was married to a private gentleman of a
competent fortune, that had not the ambition to be
a better man than he was born. And that he might
do so, he made her husband an earl of Ireland, who
knew too well the consideration that he paid for it,
and abhorred the brand of such a nobility, and did
not in a long time assume the title. The lady thus
qualified was now made fit for higher preferment :
and the king resolved, for the vindication of her ho-
nour and innocence, that she should be admitted of
the bedchamber of the queen, as the only means to
convince the world, that all aspersions upon her
had been without ground. The king used all the
ways he could, by treating the queen with all ca-
resses, to dispose her to gratify him in this particu-
lar, as a matter in which his honour was concerned
and engaged ; and protested unto her, which at that
time he did intend to observe, " that he had not had
" the least familiarity with her since her majesty's
" arrival, nor would ever after be guilty of it again,
" but would live always with her majesty in all fide-
" lity for conscience sake." The queen, who was
naturally more transported with choler than her
countenance declared her to be, had not the temper
to entertain him with those discourses, which the
172 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. vivacity of her wit could very plentifully have sug-
~~ gested to her ; but brake out into a torrent of rage,
which increased the former prejudice, confirmed the
king in the resolution he had taken, gave ill people
more credit to mention her disrespectfully, and
more increased his aversion from her company, and,
which was worse, his delight in those, who meant1
that he should neither love his wife or his business,
or any thing but their conversation.
These domestic indispositions and distempers, and
the impression they made of several kinds upon the
king's spirit and his humour, exceedingly discom-
posed the minds of the gravest and most serious
men ; gave the people generally occasion of speak-
ing loudly, and with a license that the magistrates
knew not how to punish, for the publication of the
scandal : and the wisest men despaired of finding
remedies to apply to the dissoluteness and de-
bauchery of the time, which visibly increased. No
man appeared to suffer or likely to suffer more than
the chancellor, against whom though no particular
person owned a malignity, the congregation of the
witty men for the evening conversation were enough
united against his interest; and thought his in-
fluence upon the king's actions and counsels would
be too much augmented, if the queen came to have
any power, who had a very good opinion of him :
and it is very probable, that even that apprehension
increased the combination against her majesty.
The lady had reason to hate him mortally, well
knowing that there had been an inviolable friend-
ship between her father and him to his death, which
1 who meant] Omitted in MS,
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 173
had been notorious to all men ; and that he was an 1 GG2.
implacable enemy to the power and interest she had
with the king, and had used all the endeavours he
could to destroy it. Yet neither she nor any of the
other adventured to speak ill of him to the king,
who at that time would not have borne it ; except
for wit's sake they sometimes reflected upon some-
what he had said, or acted some of his postures and
manner of speaking, (the skill in mimicry being the
best faculty in wit many of them had;) which
license they practised often towards the king him-
self, and therefore his majesty thought it to be the
more free from malice. But by these liberties,
which at first only raised laughter, they by degrees
got the hardiness to censure both the persons, coun-
sels, and actions of those who were nearest his ma-
jesty's trust, with the highest malice and presump-
tion ; and too often suspended or totally disap-
pointed some resolutions, which had been taken
upon very mature deliberation, and which ought to
have been pursued. But (as hath been said before)
this presumption had not yet come to this length.
The king imparted the trouble and unquietness
of his mind to nobody with equal freedom, as he did
to the chancellor : to him he complained of all the
queen's perverseness and ill humours, and informed
him of all that passed between them, and obliged
him to confer and advise the queen, who, he knew,
looked upon him as a man devoted to her service,
and that he would speak very confidently to her
whatsoever he thought; and therefore gave him
leave to take notice to her of any thing he had told
him. It was too delicate a province for so plain- The chan-
dealing a man as he was to undertake : and yet
174 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. knew not how to refuse it, nor indeed did despair
reconcile totally of being able to do some good, since the
|!^ir maJes- queen was not yet more acquainted with any man
than with him, nor spake so much with any man as
with him ; and he believed, that he might hereby
have opportunity to speak sometimes to the king of
some particulars with more freedom, than otherwise
he could well do, at least more effectually.
He had never heard before of the honour the
king had done that lady, nor of the purpose he had
to make her of his wife's bedchamber. He spake
with great boldness to him upon both ; and did not
believe that the first was proceeded in beyond revo-
cation, because it had not come to the great seal,
and gave him many arguments against it, which he
thought of weight. But upon the other point he
took more liberty, and spake " of the hardhearted-
" ness and cruelty in laying such a command upon
" the queen, which flesh and blood could not comply
" with." He put him in mind of what he heard
his majesty himself say, upon the like excess which
a neighbour king had lately used, in making his
mistress to live in the court, and in the presence of
the queen : that his majesty had then said, " that it
" was such a piece of ill-nature, that he could never
" be guilty of; and if ever he should be guilty of
" having a mistress after he had a wife, which he
" hoped he should never be, she should never come
" where his wife was ; he would never add that to
" the vexation, of which she would have enough
" without it." And yet he told him, " that such
" friendships were not new in that other court, nor
" scandalous in that kingdom ; whereas in this it
" was so unheard of and so odious, that a woman
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 175
" who prostituted herself to the king was equally 1662.
" infamous to all women of honour, and must expect ~~
" the same contempt from them, as if she were com-
" mon to mankind : and that no enemy he had
" could advise him a more sure way to lose the
" hearts and affections of the people, of which he
" was now so abundantly possessed, than the in-
" dulging to himself that liberty, now it had pleased
" God to give him a wife worthy of him. That
" the excess he had already used in that and other
" ways had lost him some ground ; but that the con-
" tinuance in them would break the hearts of all his
" friends, and be only grateful to those who wished
" the destruction of monarchy:" and concluded with
" asking his pardon for speaking so plainly," and
besought his majesty to remember " the wonderful
"things which God had done for him, and for which
" he expected other returns than he had yet re-
" ceived."
The king heard him with patience enough, yet
with those little interruptions which were natural to
him, especially to that part where he had levelled
the mistresses of kings and princes with other lewd
women, at which he expressed some indignation,
being an argument often debated before him by
those, who would have them looked upon above any
other men's k wives. He did not appear displeased
with the liberty he had taken, but said, " he knew it
" proceeded from the affection he had for him ;"
and then proceeded upon the several parts of what
he had said, more volubly than he used to do, as
k men's] Omitted in MS.
176 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. upon points in which he was conversant, and had
~ heard well debated.
To the first, he began with the story of an acci-
dent that had fallen out the day before; he said,
" the lady had then told him, that she did hope
" that the chancellor was not so much her enemy,
" as he was generally reported to be, for she was
" sure he was not guilty of one discourtesy of
" which he had been accused to her, and therefore
" might be as innocent in others ; and then told his
" majesty, that the day before, the earl of Bristol"
(who was never without some reason to engage
himself in such intrigues, and had been a principal
promoter of all those late resolutions) " came to her,
" and asked her whether the patent was not yet
" passed. She answerd, No. He asked if she knew
" the reason ; which she seeming not to do, he told
" her that he came in confidence to tell her, and
" that if she did not quickly curb and overrule such
" presumption, she would often meet it to her pre-
" judice ; then told her a long relation, how the pa-
" tent had been carried to the chancellor prepared
" for the seal, and that he according to his custom
" had superciliously said, that he would first speak
" with the king of it, and that in the mean time it
" should not pass ; and that if she did not make the
" king very sensible of this his insolence, his majesty
" should never be judge of his own bounty. And
" then the lady laughed, and made sharp reflections
" upon the principles of the earl of Bristol," (who had
throughout his life the rare good fortune of being
exceedingly beloved and exceedingly hated by the
same persons, in the space of one month ; and now
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 177
finding that there was a stop of the patent, made a 1662.
very natural guess where it must be, and gratified ~~
his own appetite in the conclusion,) " and pulled
" the warrant out of her pocket, where she said it
" had remained ever since it was signed, and she
" believed the chancellor had never heard of it : she
" was sure there was no patent prepared, and there-
" fore he could not stop it at the seal."
The truth is : though according to the custom
she had assumed the title as soon as she had the
warrant, that the other pretence might be prose-
cuted, she made not haste to pass the patent, lest
her husband might stop it ; and after long delibera-
tion was not so confident of the chancellor, as to
transmit it to the seal that was in his custody, but,
the honour being Irish, sent it into that kingdom to
pass the great seal there, where she was sure it could
meet no interruption.
When the king had made this relation, and added
some sharp remarks upon the earl of Bristol, as a
man very particularly known and understood by
him ; he said, " that he had undone this lady, and
" ruined her reputation, which had been fair and
" untainted till her friendship for him ; and that he
" was obliged in conscience and honour to repair her
" to the utmost of his power. That he would al-
" ways avow to have a great friendship for her,
" which he owed as well to the memory of her fa-
" ther as to her own person ; and that he would
" look upon it as the highest disrespect to him, in
" any body who should treat her otherwise than
" was due to her own birth, and the dignity to
" which he had raised her. That he liked her com-
VOL. i. N
178 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 662. " pany and conversation, from which he would not be
~" " restrained, because he knew there was and should
" be all innocence in it : and that his wife should
" never have cause to complain that he brake his
" vows to her, if she would live towards him as a
" good wife ought to do, in rendering herself grate-
" ful and acceptable to him, which it was in her
" power to do ; but if she would continue uneasy to
" him, he could not answer for himself, that he
" should not endeavour to seek content in other
" company. That he had proceeded so far in the
" business that concerned the lady, and was so
" deeply engaged in it, that she would not only be
" exposed to all imaginable contempt, if it succeeded
" not ; but his own honour would suffer so much,
" that he should become ridiculous to the world, and
" be thought too in pupilage under a governor ; and
" therefore he would expect and exact a conformity
" from his wife herein, which l should be the only
" hard thing he would ever require from her, and
" which she herself might make very easy, for the
" lady would behave herself with all possible duty
" and humility unto her, which if she should fail to
" do in the least degree, she should never see the
" king's face again : and that he would never be en-
" gaged to put any other servant about her, without
" first consulting with her, and receiving her con-
" sent and approbation. Upon the whole," he said,
" he would never recede from any part of the reso-
" lution he had taken and expressed to him : and
" therefore he required him to use all those argu-
1 which] and which
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 179
" ments to the queen, which were necessary to in- 1G62.
" duce her to a full compliance with what the king ~~
" desired."
The chancellor addressed himself to the queen
with as full liberty and plainness as he had pre-
sumed to use to his majesty, but could not proceed
so far at a time, nor hold so long conferences at
once. When he first lamented the misintelligence
he observed to be between their majesties, and she
perceived the king had told him some particulars,
she protested her own innocence, but with so much
passion and such a torrent of tears, that there was
nothing left for him to do, but to retire, and tell
her, " that he would wait upon her in a fitter sea-
** son, and when she should be more capable of re-
** ceiving humble advice from her servants, who
" wished her well ;" and so departed.
The next day he waited upon her again at the
hour assigned by her, and found her much better
composed than he had left her. She vouchsafed to
excuse the passion she had been in, and confessed
" she looked upon him as one of the few friends she
" had, and from whom she would most willingly at
" all times receive counsel : but that she hoped he
" would not wonder or blame her, if having greater
" misfortunes upon her, and being to struggle with
" more difficulties, than any woman had ever been
" put to of her condition, she sometimes gave vent
" to that passion that was ready to break her heart."
He told her, " he was desirous indeed to serve her,
" of which he would not make great or many pro-
" testations, since she could not but believe it, ex-
" cept she thought him to be a fool, or mad, since
" nothing could contribute so much to his happiness,
N 2
180 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. " as an eminent sympathy between the king and
~~ " her in all things : and he could not give her a
" greater evidence of his devotion, than in always
" saying that to her which was fit for her to hear,
" though it did not please her ; and he would ob-
" serve no other rule towards her, though it should
" render him ungracious to her."
She seemed well satisfied with what he said, and
told him " he should never be more welcome to her,
" than when he told her of her faults :" to which he
replied, " that it was the province he was accused
" of usurping with reference to all his friends." He
told her, " that he doubted she was little beholden
" to her education, that had given her no better
" information of the follies and iniquities of man-
" kind, of which he presumed the climate from
" whence she came could have given more instances,
" than this cold region would afford ;" though at
that time it was indeed very hot. He said, " if her
" majesty had been fairly dealt with in that parti-
" cular, she could never have thought herself so
" miserable, and her condition so insupportable
" as she seemed to think it to be ; the ground of
" which heavy complaint he could not comprehend."
Whereupon with some blushing and confusion and
some tears she said m, " she did not think that she
" should have found the king engaged in his aifec-
" tion to another lady ;" and then was able to say
no more : which gave the chancellor opportunity to
say, " that he knew well, that she had been very
" little acquainted with or informed of the world ;
" yet he could not believe that she was so utterly
m she said] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 181
ignorant, as to expect that the king her husband, 1662.
" in the full strength and vigour of his youth n, was
" of so innocent a constitution, as to be reserved for
" her whom he had never seen, and to have had no
" acquaintance or familiarity with the sex ;" and
asked °, " whether she believed, when it should please
" God to send a queen to Portugal, she should find
" that court so full of chaste affections." Upon
which her majesty smiled, and spake pleasantly
enough, but as if she thought it did not concern her
case, and as if the king's affection had not wan-
dered, but remained fixed.
Upon which the chancellor replied with some
warmth, " that he came to her with a message from
" the king, which if she received as she ought to do,
" and as he hoped she would, she would be the hap-
" piest queen in the world. That whatever cor-
" respondences the king had entertained with any
" other ladies, before he saw her majesty, concerned
" not her ; nor ought she to inquire more into them
" or after them, than into what other excesses P he
" had used in his youth in France, Holland, or Ger-
" many. That he had authority to assure her, that
" all former appetites were expired, and that he de-
" dicated himself entirely and without reserve to
" her ; and that if she met his affection with that
" warmth and spirit and good humour, which she
" well knew how to express, she would live a life
" of the greatest delight imaginable. That her good
" fortune, and all the joy she could have in this
" world, was in her own power, and that she only
" strove ^ to drive it from her." She heard all this
n youth] use P excesses] exercises
0 asked] Omitted in MS. *» strove] Omitted in MS.
N 3
1 662. with apparent pleasure, and infinite expressions of her
acknowledgments of the king's bounty ; thanked the
chancellor more than enough, and desired him " to
" help in returning her thanks to his majesty, and
" in obtaining his pardon for any passion or peevish-
" ness she might have been guilty of, and in assur-
" ing him of all future obedience and duty."
Upon this good temper he approached to the
other part of his message, " how necessary it would
" be that her majesty should gratify this good reso-
" lution and justice and tenderness in the king, by
" meeting it with a proportionable submission and
" resignation on her part to whatsoever his majesty
" should desire of her ;" and then insinuated what
would be acceptable with reference to the lady.
But this was no sooner mentioned, than it raised all
the rage and fury of yesterday, with fewer tears,
the fire appearing in her eyes, where the water was.
She said, " that the king's insisting upon that par-
" ticular could proceed from no other ground but
" his hatred of her person, and to expose her to the
" contempt of the world, who would think her wor-
" thy of such an affront, if she submitted to it ;
" which before she would do, she would put herself
" on board any little vessel, and so be transported
" to Lisbon :" with many other extravagant expres-
sions, which her passion suggested in spite of her
understanding; and which he interrupted with a
very ill countenance, and told her, f* that she had
" not the disposal of her own person, nor could go
" out of the house where she was without the king's
" leave ;" and therefore advised her " not to speak
" any more of Portugal, where there were enough
" who would wish her to be." He told her, " that
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 183
•
" he would find some fitter time to speak with her, 1662.
" and till then only desired that she would make
" show of no such passion to the king ; and that
" whatever she thought fit to deny that the king
" proposed to her, she should deny in such a manner,
** as should look rather like a deferring than an ut-
" ter refusal, that his majesty might not be pro-
" voked to enter into the same passion, which would
" be superior to hers." ;.ii.-
The chancellor made the more haste to inform
the king of all that had passed, that he might pre-
vail with him to suspend for some little time the
prosecuting that argument further with the queen.
He gave him an account of all the good and kind
things she had said with reference to his majesty, of
the professions she had made of all duty and obe-
dience to him throughout the whole course of her
life ; " that her unwillingness to obey him in this
" one particular proceeded only from the great pas-
" sion of love which she had for him, that trans-
" ported her beyond the limits of her reason." He
confessed, " he had not discoursed it so fully with
" her majesty as he resolved to have done, because
" a sudden passion had seized upon her, which she
" must have some time to overrule ;" and therefore
he entreated his majesty " for a day or two to for-
" bear pressing the queen in that matter, till he had
" once more waited upon her, by which he hoped he
" might in some degree dispose her majesty to give
" him satisfaction." And though he was in no degree
pleased with the account, yet the other did think,
that he would for a little have respited the further
discourse of it.
But the king quickly found other counsellors, who
N 4
184 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. told him, " that the thing he contended for was not
~~ " of so much importance as the manner of obtaining
" it ; that the contention now was, who should go-
" vem ; and if he suffered himself to be disputed
" with, he must resolve hereafter to do all things
" precario" And as this advice was more suitable to
his present passion and purpose, so it was embraced
greedily and resolutely. The fire flamed that night
higher than ever: the king reproached the queen
with stubbornness and want of duty, and she him
with tyranny and want of affection : he used threats
and menaces, which he never intended to put in
execution, and she talked loudly " how ill she was
" treated, and that she would return again to Por-
" tugal." He replied, " that she should do well first
" to know whether her mother would receive her :
" and he would give her a fit opportunity to know
" that, by sending to their home all her Portuguese
" servants ; and that he would forthwith give order
" for the discharge of them all, since they behaved
" themselves so ill, for to them and their counsels
" he imputed all her perverseness."
The passion and noise of the night reached too
many ears to be a secret the next day ; and the
whole court was full of that, which ought to have
been known to nobody. And the mutual carriage
and behaviour between their majesties confirmed all
that they had heard or could imagine : they spake
not, hardly looked on one another. Every body was
glad that they were so far from the town, (for they
were still at Hampton-court,) and that there were
so few witnesses of all that passed. The queen sat
melancholic in her chamber in tears, except when
she drove them away by a more violent passion in
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 185
choleric discourse : and the king sought his diver- 1 662.
tisements in that company that said and did all"
things to please him ; and there he spent all the
nights, and in the morning came to the queen's
•chamber, for he never slept in any other place. No-
body knew how to interpose, or indeed how to be-
have themselves, the court being far from one
mind ; with this difference, that the young and fro-
lic people of either sex talked loudly all that they
thought the king would like and be pleased with,
whilst the other more grave and serious people did
in their souls pity the queen, and thought that she
was put to bear more than her strength could sus-
tain.
The chancellor came not to the court in two or
three days ; and when he did come thither, he for-
bore to see the queen, till the king sent him again to
her. His majesty informed him at large, and with
more than his natural passion, of all that had pass-
ed ; and " of the foolish extravagancy" (as he called
it) " of returning to Portugal ; and of the positive
" resolution he had taken, and the orders he had
" given, for the present sending away all the Portu-
" gueses, to whom he did impute all his wife's fro-
" wardness." He renewed his former declaration,
" that he would gain his point, and never depart
" from that resolution ;" yet was content to be
blamed by the chancellor, for having proceeded with
so much choler and precipitation, and seemed to
think that he had done better, if he had followed
his former advice. But then he added, "that be-
" sides the uneasiness and pain within himself, the
" thing was more spoken of in all places, and more
" to his disadvantage, whilst it was in this suspense,
186 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. " than it would be when it was once executed;
~~ " which would put a final end to all debates, and all
" would be forgotten."
The chancellor desired his majesty to believe,
" that he would endeavour, by all the ways he
" could devise, to persuade the queen to submit to
" his pleasure, because it is his pleasure ; and that
" he would urge some arguments to her, which he
" could not himself answer ; and therefore he was
" not without hope that they might prevail. But
" he desired him likewise to believe, that he had
" much rather spend his pains in endeavouring to
" convert his majesty from pursuing his resolution,
" which he did in his conscience believe to be un-
" just, than in persuading her majesty to comply
" with it, which yet he would very heartily do."
He desired him " to give him leave to put him in
" mind of a discourse his majesty had held with
" him many years ago, upon an occasion that he
" had administered by telling him what his father,
" the late king, had said to him : that he had great
" reason to acknowledge it due r to God's immediate
" blessing, and in truth to his inspiration, that he
" continued firm in his religion : for though his fa-
" ther had always taken pains himself to inform and
*' instruct him, yet he had been so much deceived
" by others that he put about him when he was
" young, a company of the arrantest knaves and pu-
" ritans" (they were his own words) " that could be
" found in the two kingdoms ; whereof he named
" two or three, who were enemies to the church,
" and used to deride all religion. That when he had
r due] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 187
" related this discourse accidentally of his late ma- 1662.
" jesty, the king replied, that if it should please God ~~
" ever to give him a wife and children, he would
*' make choice of such people to be about both in
" all places of near trust, who in their natures and
" manners, and if it were possible in their very hu-
" incurs, were such as he wished his wife and chil-
" dren should be ; for he did believe that most
" young people (and it may be elder) were upon
" the matter formed by those whom they saw con-
" tinually and could not but observe." The king
answered with some quickness, "that he remem-
" bered the discourse very well, and should think
" of it ; but that the business which he had com-
" mended to him must be done, and without de-
" lay."
When the chancellor was admitted to the queen,
he presumed with all plainness to blame her " for
" the illimited passion with s which she had treated
" the king, and thereby provoked him to greater in-
" dignation than she could imagine, or in truth sus-
" tain :" and begged *, " that for her own sake she
" would decline and suppress such distempers, which
" could have no other effect, than in making the
" wound incurable ; which it would do, in a very
" little time more, inevitably, and reduce all her
" faithful servants to an incapacity of serving her."
She acknowledged with tears, " that she had been in
" too much passion, and said somewhat she ought
" not to have said, and for which she would wil-
" lingly ask the king's pardon upon her knees ;
s with] in ' begged] Not in MS.
188 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. " though his manner of treating her had wonder-
~~" fully surprised her, and might be some excuse for
" more than ordinary commotion. That she prayed
" to God to give her patience, and hoped she should
" be no more transported with the like passion upon
" what provocation soever."
Then he entreated, " that he might find some
" effect of that her good resolution, in permitting
" him to enlarge upon the argument he was obliged
" to discourse to her ; and that if he offered any
" humble advice, it should be such as he was most
" confident would prove for her benefit, and such as
" he would himself submit to if he were in her con-
" dition." He told her, " he came not to justify
" and defend the proposition that had been made to
" her concerning the lady, as a just or a reasonable
" proposition ; he had not dissembled his own opin-
" ion as to either, and when he should now insist
" upon it again, which he must do, he could not but
" confess that it was a very hard injunction, not to
" be yielded to without some reluctancy :" but he
besought her to tell him, " whether she thought it
" in her power to divert it ; or that it was not in
" the king's power to impose it upon her."
She answered, " she knew it was in her own
" power to consent or not to consent to it ; and that
" she could not despair, but that the king's justice
" and goodness might divert him from the prosecu-
" tion of a command so unreasonable in him, and so
" dishonourable to her. She would not dispute the
" king's power, what it might impose, being sure
" that she could not rescue herself from it : but,"
she said, " nobody knew better than he, whether the
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 189
king was obliged to leave the choice of her own 1652.
" servants to herself; and if it were otherwise, she
" had been deceived."
He told her, " that she had and would always en-
" joy that privilege : but that it was always under-
" stood in conditions of that nature, that as the hus-
" band would not impose a servant, against whom
" just exceptions could be made ; so it was pre-
" sumed, that no wife would refuse to receive a ser-
'* vant, that was esteemed and commended by her
" husband. That he did assure her, upon as much
" knowledge as he was capable to have in affairs of
" such a nature, that the king would exact an entire
" conformity to his pleasure in this particular ; and
" then the question would only be, whether it would
" be better that she conform herself with alacrity
" to an obedience, with those circumstances which
" might be obliging and meritorious on her part ; or
" that it should be done without her consent, and
" with all the repugnancy she could express, which
" could only be in angry words and ungracious
" circumstances, which would have a more bitter
•" operation in her own breast and thoughts, than
" any where else : and therefore he did very impor-
" tunately advise her to submit to that cheerfully,
" that she could not resist ; which if she should not
" do, and do out of hand, she would too late re-
« pent."
To which she replied with great calmness, " that
" it may be worse could not fall out than she ex-
" pected ; but why she should repent the not giving
" her consent, she could not apprehend, since her
" conscience would not give her leave to consent:"
which when she saw him receive with a face of
190 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. trouble and wonder, which it was his misfortune
~ and weakness never to be able to conceal or dissem-
ble, she continued her discourse, and said, " she
" could not conceive how any body could, with a
" good conscience, consent to what she could not
" but suppose would be an occasion and opportunity
" of sin." To which he suddenly replied, " that he
" now understood her ; and that she ought to have
" no such apprehension, but to believe the profes-
" sions the king made, of the sincerity whereof she
" would hereby become a witness; and if there
" should be any tergiversation, the opportunity,
" which she fancied, would be more frequent at a
" distance than by such a relation, which nothing
" but a resolved innocence could make desirable by
" either party." To which he added, " that he
" thought her majesty had too mean and low an
" opinion u of her person and her parts, if she thought
" it could be in the power of any other lady to de-
" prive her of the interest she had a right to, if she
" did all that became her to retain it ; and which in
" that case she could not lose but by the highest
" fraud and perjury, which she could not justly en-
" tertain the suspicion of."
There cannot be a greater patience and intent-
ness of hearing, than the queen manifested during
the time of his discourse, sometimes seeming not
displeased, but oftener by a smile declaring that she
did not believe what he said : and in conclusion, in
few words declared, " that the king might do what
" he pleased, but that she would x not consent to it ;"
and pronounced it with a countenance, as if she
" had too mean and low an lower opinion
opinion] had a meaner and a x would] could
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 191
both hoped and believed, that her obstinacy would 1662.
in the end prevail over the king's importunity : and
it is very probable, that she had advice given her
to that purpose. The chancellor concluded with
telling her, " that he would give her no more trouble
" upon this particular : that he was sorry he had not
" credit enough to prevail with her majesty in a
" point that would have turned so much to her be-
" nefit ; and that she would hereafter be sorry for
" her refusal." And when he had given the king
a faithful account of all that had passed ; and " that
st he believed them both to be very much to blame,
" and that that party would be most excusable who
" yielded first ;" he made it his humble suit, " that His endea-
vours prove
" he might be no more consulted with, nor employed uns
" in an affair in which he had been so unsuccessful." "
The king came seldom into the queen's company,
and when he did he spake not to her ; but spent his
time in other divertisements, and in the company of
those who made it their business to laugh at all
the world, and who were as bold with God Almighty
as with any of his creatures. He persevered in all
his resolutions without any remorse ; directed a day
for all the Portugueses to be embarked, without as-
signing any considerable thing of bounty to any of
them, or vouchsafing to write any letter to the king
or queen of Portugal of the cause of the dismission
of them. And this rigour prevailed upon the great
heart of the queen, who had not received any money
to enable her to be liberal to any of those, who had
attended her out of their own country, and pro-
mised themselves places of great advantage in her
family : and she earnestly desired the king, " that
" she might retain some few of those who were
192 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. " known to her, and of most use, that she might not
~ " be wholly left in the hands of strangers ;" and em-
ployed others to make the same suit to the king on
her behalf. Whereupon the countess of Penalva, who
had been bred with her from a child, and who, by
the infirmity of her eyes and other indisposition of
health, scarce stirred out of her chamber, was permit-
ted to remain in the court : and some few ? inferior
servants in her kitchen and in the lowest offices, be-
sides those who were necessary to her devotions,
were left here. All the rest were* transported to
Portugal.
The officers of the revenue were required to use
all strictness in the receipt of that part of the por-
tion that was brought over with the fleet ; and not
to allow any of those demands which were made
upon computation of the value of money, and other
allowances, upon the account : and Diego de Silva,
who was designed in Portugal without any good
reason to be the queen's treasurer, and upon that
expectation had undertaken that troublesome pro-
vince to see the money paid in London by what was
assigned to that purpose, was committed to prison
for not making haste enough in the payment and in
finishing the account; and his commitment went
very near the queen, as an affront done to herself.
The Portugal ambassador, who was a very honest
man, and so desirous to serve the king that he had
upon the matter lost the queen, was heartbroken ;
and after a long sickness, which all men believed
would have killed him, as soon as he was able to
endure the air, left Hampton-court, and retired to
his own house in the city.
> few] other z were] Omitted in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 193
In all this time the king pursued his point : the lady 1 662.
came to the court, was lodged there, was every day
in the queen's presence, and the king in continual
conference with her ; whilst the queen sat untaken
notice of: and if her majesty rose at the indignity
and retired into her chamber, it may be one or two
attended her ; but all the company remained in the
room she left, and too often said those things aloud
which nobody ought to have whispered. The king
(who had in the beginning of this conflict appeared
still with a countenance of trouble and sadness,
which had been manifest to every body, and no
doubt was really afflicted, and sometimes wished
that he had not proceeded so far, until he was
again new chafed with the reproach of being go-
verned, which he received with the most sensible
indignation, and was commonly provoked with it
most by those who intended most to govern him)
had now vanquished or suppressed all those tender-
nesses and reluctances, and appeared every day more
gay and pleasant, without any clouds in his face, and
full of good humour ; saving that the close observers
thought it more feigned and affected than of a na-
tural growth. However, to the queen it appeared
very real, and made her the more sensible, that she
alone was left out in all jollities, and not suffered to
have any part of those pleasant applications and
caresses, which she saw made almost to every body
else ; an universal mirth in all company but in hers,
and in all places but in her chamber ; her own ser-
vants shewing more respect and more diligence to
the person of the lady, than towards their own mis-
tress, who they found could do them less good. The
nightly meeting continued with the same or more
VOL. II. O
194 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1662. license; and the discourses which passed there, of
what argument soever, were the discourse of the
whole court and of the town the day following:
whilst the queen had the king's company those few
hours which remained of the preceding night, and
which were too little for sleep.
All these mortifications were too heavy to be
borne : so that at last, when it was least expected
or suspected, the queen on a sudden let herself fall
first to conversation and then to familiarity, and
even in the same instant to a confidence with the
lady ; was merry with her in public, talked kindly
of her, and in private used nobody more friendly.
This excess of condescension, without any provo-
cation or invitation, except by multiplication of in-
juries and neglect, and after all friendships were re-
newed, and indulgence yielded to new liberty, did
the queen less good than her former resoluteness
had done. Very many looked upon her with much
compassion, commended the greatness of her spirit,
detested the barbarity of the affronts she underwent,
and censured them as loudly as they durst; not
without assuming the liberty sometimes of insinuat-
ing to the king himself, " how much his own honour
" suffered in the neglect and disrespect of her own
" servants, who ought at least in public to manifest
" some duty and reverence towards her majesty ;
" and how much he lost in the general affections of
" his subjects : and that, besides the displeasure of
" God Almighty, he could not reasonably hope for
" children by the queen, which was the great if not
" the only blessing of which he stood in need,
" whilst her heart was so full of grief, and whilst
" she was continually exercised with such insup-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 195
" portable afflictions." And many, who were not 1662.
wholly unconversant with the king, nor strangers to ~~
his temper and constitution, did believe that he grew
weary of the struggle, and even ready to avoid the
scandal that was so notorious, by the lady's with-
drawing from the verge of the court and being no
longer seen there, how firmly soever the friendship
might be established. But this sudden downfall
and total abandoning her own greatness, this low
demeanour and even application to a person she had
justly abhorred and worthily contemned, made all
men conclude, that it was a hard matter to know
her, and consequently to serve her. And the king
himself was so far from being reconciled by it, that
the esteem, which he could not hitherto but retain
in his heart for her, grew now much less. He con-
cluded that all her former aversion expressed in
those lively passions, which seemed not capable of
dissimulation, was all fiction, and purely acted to
the life by a nature crafty, perverse, and inconstant.
He congratulated his own ill-natured perseverance,
by which he had discovered how he was to behave
himself hereafter, and what remedies he was to ap-
ply to all future indispositions : nor had he ever
after the same value of her wit, judgment, and un-
derstanding, which he had formerly ; and was well
enough pleased to observe, that the reverence others
had for all three was somewhat diminished.
The parliament assembled together at the same 1663.
time in February to which they had been adjourned inentPnIeet$
or prorogued, and continued together till the end ofFebt 18<
July following. They Wrought the same affection
and duty with them towards the king, which they
had formerly ; but were much troubled at what they
o 2
196 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. had heard and what they had observed of the divi-
sions in court. They had the same fidelity for the
king's service, but not the same alacrity in it : the
despatch was much slower in all matters depending,
than it had used to be. The truth is ; the house of
commons was upon the matter not the same : three
years sitting, for it was very near so long since they
had been first assembled, had consumed very many
of their members ; and in the places of those who
died, great pains were taken to have some of the
king's menial servants chosen ; so that there was a
very great number of men in all stations in the
court, as well below stairs as above, who were mem-
bers of the house of commons. And there were
very few of them, who did not think themselves
qualified to reform whatsoever was amiss in church
or state, and to procure whatsoever supply the king
would require.
They, who either out of their own modesty, or in
regard of their distant relation to his service, had
seldom had access to his presence, never had pre-
sumed to speak to him ; now by the privilege of
parliament every day resorted to him, and had as
much conference with him as they desired. They,
according to the comprehension they had of affairs,
represented their advice to him for the conducting
his affairs ; according to their several opinions and
observations represented those and those men as
well affected to his service, and others, much better
than they, who did not pay them so much respect,
to be ill-affected and to want duty for his majesty.
They brought those, who»appeared to them to be
most zealous for his service, because they professed
to be ready to do any thing he pleased to prescribe,
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 197
to receive his majesty's thanks, and from himself his 1663.
immediate directions how to behave themselves in~~
the house ; when the men were capable of no other
instruction, than to follow the example of some dis-
creet man in whatsoever he should vote, and behave
themselves accordingly.
To this time, the king had been content to refer
the conduct of his affairs in the parliament to the
chancellor and the treasurer ; who had every day
conference with some select persons of the house of
commons, who had always served the king, and
upon that account had great interest in that assem-
bly, and in regard of the experience they had and
their good parts were hearkened to with reverence.
And with those they consulted in what method to
proceed in disposing the house, sometimes to pro-
pose, sometimes to consent to what should be most
necessary for the public ; and by them to assign
parts to other men, whom they found disposed and
willing to concur in what was to be desired : and all
this without any noise, or bringing many together
to design, which ever was and ever will be ingrateful
to parliaments, and, however it may succeed for a lit-
tle time, will in the end be attended with prejudice.
But there were two persons now introduced to characters
. . i . i . i of two lead-
act upon that stage, who disdained to receive orders, ing men in
or to have any method prescribed to them ; who coLmTns.0
took upon them to judge of other men's defects, and
thought their own abilities beyond exception.
The one was sir Harry Bennet, who had pro- or sir
i c, Henry Ben-
CUred himself to be sent agent or envoy into Spain, net.
as soon as the king came from Brussels ; being a
man very well known to the king, and for his plea-
sant and agreeable humour acceptable to him : and
o 3
198 CONTINUATION OF TH£ LIFE OF
1G63. he remained there at much ease till the king re-
turned to England, having waited upon his majesty
at Fuentarabia in the close of the treaty between
the two crowns, and there appeared by his dexterity
to have gained good credit in the court of Spain,
and particularly with don Lewis de Haro ; and by
that short negociation he renewed and confirmed
the former good inclinations of his master to him.
He had been obliged always to correspond with
the chancellor, by whom his instructions had been
drawn, and to receive the king's pleasure by his sig-
nification ; which he had always done, and pro-
fessed much respect and submission to him : though
whatever orders he received, and how positive so-
ever, in particulars which highly concerned the
king's honour and dignity, he observed them so far
and no further than his own humour disposed him ;
and in some cases flatly disobeyed what the king en-
joined, and did directly the contrary, as in the case
of the Jesuit Peter Talbot ; who having carried
himself with notorious insolence towards the king
in Flanders, had transported himself into England,
offered his service to Cromwell, and after his death
was employed by the ruling powers into Spain, upon
his undertaking to procure orders, by which the
king should not be suffered longer to reside in Flan-
ders : of all which his majesty having received full
advertisement, he made haste to send orders into
Spain to sir Harry Bennet, " that he should prepare
" don Lewis for his reception by letting him know,
" that though that Jesuit was his natural subject,
" he had so misbehaved himself, that he looked
" upon him as a most inveterate z enemy and a trai-
1 inveterate] Omitted in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 199
" tor ; and therefore his majesty desired, that he j 663.
" might receive no countenance there, being, as he
" well knew, sent by the greatest rebels to do him
" prejudice."
This was received by sir Harry Bennet before
the arrival of the man, who found no inconvenience
by it ; and instead of making any complaint con-
cerning him, he writ word, " that Talbot had more
" credit than he in that court ; that he professed to
" have great devotion for the king ; and therefore
" his advice was, that the king would have a better
" opinion of him, and employ him in his service:"
and himself received him into his full confidence,
and consulted with no man so much as with him ;
which made all men believe that he was a Roman
catholic, who did believe that he had any religion.
But he had made his full excuse and defence for all
this at the interview at Fuentarabia, from whence the
king returned with marvellous satisfaction in his dis-
cretion as well as in his affection. And until, con-
trary to all his expectation, he heard of the king's
return into England, all his thoughts were employed
how to make benefit of the duke of York's coming
into Spain to be admiral of the galleys ; which he
writ to hasten all that might be.
Though he continued his formal correspondence
with the chancellor, which he could not decline ;
yet he held a more secret intelligence with Daniel
O'Neile of the bedchamber, with whom he had a
long friendship. As soon as the king arrived in
England, he trusted O'Neile to procure any direc-
tion from the king immediately in those particulars
which himself advised. And so he obtained the
king's consent, for his consenting to the old league
o 4
1663. that had been made between England and Spain in
~~ the time of the late king, and which Spain had ex-
pressly refused to renew after the death of that king,
(which was suddenly proclaimed in Spain, without
ever being consulted in England;) and presently
after leave to return into England without any let-
ter of revocation : both which were procured, or ra-
ther signified, by O'Neile, without the privity of the
chancellor or of either of the secretaries of state ;
nor did either of them know that he was from Ma-
drid, till they heard he was in Paris, from whence
he arrived in London in a very short time after.
So far the chancellor was from that powerful in-
terest or influence, when his credit was at highest.
But he was very well received by the king, in
whose affections he had a very good place : and
shortly after his arrival, though not so soon as he
thought his high merit deserved, his majesty con-
ferred the only place then void (and that had been
long promised to a noble person, who had behaved
himself very well towards his majesty and his blessed
father) upon him, which was the office of privy
purse ; received him into great familiarity, and into
the nightly meeting, in which he filled a principal
place to all intents and purposes. The king very
much desired to have him elected a member in the
house of commons, and commanded the chancellor
to use his credit to obtain it upon the first opportu-
nity : and in obedience to that command, he did
procure him to be chosen about the time we are
now speaking of, when the parliament assembled in
February.
ofMr.wii- The other person was Mr. William Coventry, the
Ham Co- . _
ventry. youngest son to a very wise father, the lord Coven-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 201
try, who had been lord keeper of the great seal of 1663.
England for many years with an a universal reputa-~
tion. This gentleman was young whilst the war
continued : yet he had put himself before the end
of it into the army, and had the command of a foot
company, and shortly after travelled into France ;
where he remained whilst there was any hope of
getting another army for the king, or that either of
the other crowns would engage in his quarrel. But
when all thoughts of that were desperate, he re-
turned into England ; where he remained for many
years without the least correspondence with any of
his friends beyond the seas, and with so little repu-
tation of caring much for the king's restoration, that
some of his own family, who were most zealous for
his majesty's service, and had always some signal
part in any reasonable design, took care of nothing
more, than that nothing they did should come to
his knowledge ; and gave the same advice to those
about the king, with whom they corresponded, to
use the same caution. Not that any body suspected
his being inclined to the rebels, or to do any act of
treachery ; but that the pride and censoriousness of
his nature made him unconversable, and his despair
that any thing could be effectually done made him
incompetent to consult the ways of doing it. Nor
had he any conversation with any of the king's
party, nor they with him, till the king was pro-
claimed in London ; and then he came over with
the rest to offer his service to his majesty at the
Hague, and had the good fortune to find the duke
of York without a secretary. For though he had a
an] a
202 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1G63. Walloon that was, in respect of the languages of
which he was master, fit for that function in the
army, and had discharged it very well for some
years; yet for the province the duke was now to
govern, having the office of high admiral of Eng-
land, he was without any fit person to discharge the
office of secretary with any tolerable sufficiency : so
that Mr. Coventry no sooner offered his service to
the duke, but he was received into that employ-
ment, very honourable under such a master, and in
itself of the greatest profit next the secretaries of
state, if they in that respect be to be preferred.
He had been well known to the king and duke
in France, and had a brother whom the king loved
well and had promised to take into his bedchamber,
as he shortly after did, Harry Coventry, who was
beloved by every body, which made them glad of
the preferment of the other ; whilst they who knew
the worst of him, yet knew him able to discharge
that office, and so contributed to the duke's receiv-
ing him. He was a sullen, ill-natured, proud man,
whose ambition had no limits, nor could be con-
tained within any. His parts were very good, if he
had not thought them better than any other man's ;
and he had diligence and industry, which men of
good parts are too often without, which made him b
quickly to have &t least credit and power enough
with the duke ; and he was without those vices which
were too much in request, and which make men
most unfit for business and the trust that cannot
be separated from it.
He had sat a member in the house of commons,
b him] Omitted in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 203
from the beginning of the parliament, with very 1663.
much reputation of an able man. He spake perti-
nently, and was always very acceptable and well
heard ; and was one of those with whom they, who
were trusted by the king in conducting his affairs
in the lower house, consulted very frequently ; but
not so much, nor relied equally upon his advice, as
upon some few others who had much more expe-
rience, which he thought was of use only to igno-
rant and dull men, and that men of sagacity could
see and determine at a little light, and ought rather
to persuade and engage men to do that which they
judged fit, than consider what themselves were in-
clined to do : and so did not think himself to be
enough valued and relied upon, and only to be made
use of to the celebrating the designs and contrivance
of other men, without being signal in the managery,
which he aspired to be. Nor did any man envy
him the province, if he could indeed have governed
it, and that others who had more useful talents
would have been ruled by him. However, being a
man who naturally loved faction and contradiction,
he often made experiments how far he could prevail
in the house, by declining the method that was pre-
scribed, and proposing somewhat to the house that
was either beside or contrary to it, and which the
others would not oppose, believing, in regard of his
relation, that he had received newer directions : and
then if it succeeded well, (as sometimes it did,) he
had argument enough to censure and inveigh against
the chancellor, for having taken so ill measures of
the temper and affections of the house ; for he did
not dissemble in his private conversation (though
his outward carriage was very fair) that he had no
204 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. kindness for him, which in gratitude he ought to
""have had; nor had he any thing to complain of
from him, but that he wished well and did all he
could to defend and support a very worthy person,
who had deserved very well from the king, against
whom he manifested a great and causeless animo-
sity, and desired to oppress for his own profit, of
which he had an immoderate appetite.
When those two persons, sir Harry Bennet and
Mr. Coventry, (between whom there had been as
great a league of friendship, as can be between two
very proud men equally ill-natured,) came now to
sit together in the house of commons ; though the
former of them knew no more of the constitution
and laws of England than he did of China, nor had
in truth a care or tenderness for church or state,
but believed France was the best pattern in the
world ; they thought they should have the greatest
wrong imaginable, if they did not entirely govern it,
and if the king took his measures of what should be
done there from any body but themselves. They
made friendships with some young men, who spake
confidently and often, andc upon some occasions
seemed to have credit in the house. And upon a
little conversation with those men, who, being coun-
try gentlemen of ordinary condition and mean for-
tunes, were desirous to have interest in such a per-
son as sir Harry Bennet, who was believed to have
great credit with the king; he believed he under-
stood the house, and what was to be done there, as
well as any man in England.
He recommended those men to the king " as per-
c and] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 205
" sons of sublime parts, worthy of his majesty's ca- 1663.
" ressing : that he would undertake to fix them to
" his service ; and when they were his own, he
" might carry what he would in the house of com-
" mons." The men had parts indeed and good af-
fections, and often had resorted to the chancellor,
received advice from him, and thought themselves
beholden to him; being at that time entirely go-
verned by sir Hugh Pollard, who was himself still
advised by the chancellor (with whom he had a long
and fast friendship) how he should direct his friends,
having indeed a greater party in the house of com-
mons willing to be disposed of by him, than any
man that ever sat there in my time. But now these
gentlemen had got a better patron ; the new cour-
tier had raised their value, and talked in another
dialect to them, of recompenses and rewards, than
they had heard formerly. He carried them to the
king, and told his majesty in their own hearing,
" what men of parts they were, what services they
" had done for him, and how much greater they
" could do :" and his majesty received and conferred
with them very graciously, and dismissed them with
promises which made them rich already.
The two friends before mentioned agreed so well
between themselves, that whether they spake to-
gether or apart to the king, they said always the
same things, gave the same information, and took
care that both their masters might have the same
opinions and judgments. They magnified the affec-
tions of the house of commons, " which were so
" great and united, that they would do whatso-
" ever his majesty would require. That there were
" many worthy and able men, of whose wisdom the
206 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 663. " house was so well persuaded, that they commonly
~~ " consented to whatsoever they proposed : and that
" these men complained, that they had no directions
" given to them which way they might best serve
" the king ; they knew not what he desired, which
" when they should do, it would quickly appear how
" much they were at the king's disposal, and all
" things which now depended long would be here-
" after despatched in half the time."
The king wondered very much, " that his friends
" in the house were no better informed, of which he
" had never heard any complaint before, and wished
" them to speak with the chancellor :" for neither
of these men were yet arrived at the confidence
to insinuate in the least degree any ill-will or pre-
judice to him, though they were not united in any
one thing more than the desire of his ruin, and the
resolution to compass it by all the ill arts and de-
vices they could use ; but till it should be more sea-
sonable, they dissembled to both their masters to
have a high esteem of him, having not yet credit
enough with either to do him harm. They said,
" they would very willingly repair to him, and be
" directed by him : but they desired that his majesty
" himself would first speak to him (because it would
" not so well become them) to call those persons,
" wrhom they had recommended to him, to meet
" together with the rest with whom he used to ad-
" vise ; which the persons they named they were
" sure would be very glad of, having all of them a
" great esteem of the chancellor, and being well
" known to him," as indeed they were, and most
of them obliged by him.
The king willingly undertook it : and being shortly
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 207
after attended by the chancellor, his majesty told IG63.
him all that the other two had said to him, and did
not forget to let him know the great good-will they
had both professed towards him. He asked him
" what he thought of such and such men," and par-
ticularly named Mr. Clifford and Mr. Churchill, and
some other men of better quality and much more
interest, " who," he said, " took it ill that they were
" not particularly informed what the king desired,
" and which way they might best serve him ;" and
bade him, " that at the next meeting of the rest,
" these men might likewise have notice to be pre-
" sent, together with sir Harry Bennet and Mr.
" William Coventry ;" for Harry Coventry (who was
a much wiser man than his brother, and had a much
better reputation with wise men) was constantly in
those councils.
The chancellor told him, " that great and noto-
" rious meetings and cabals in parliament had been
" always odious in parliament : and though they
" might produce some success in one or two parti-
" culars till they were discovered, they had always
" ended unluckily ; until they were introduced in
" the late ill times by so great a combination, that
" they could not receive any discountenance. Yet
" that they, who compassed all their wicked designs
" by those cabals, were so jealous that they might
" be overmatched by the like practices, that when
" they discovered any three or four of those, who
" were used to concur with them, to have any pri-
" vate meetings, they accused them to conspire
" against the parliament. That when his majesty
" returned, and all the world was full of joy and de-
" light to serve him, and persons were willing and
208 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. " importunate to receive direction how they might
~~ " do it in that convention ; care had been taken
" without any noise, or bringing any prejudice upon
" those who were willing to be instruments towards
" the procuring what was desirable, and to prevent
" what would be ingrateful, that little notice might
" be taken of them, which had good success.
" That since this parliament the lord treasurer
" and he had, by his majesty's direction, made choice
" of some persons eminent for their affection to the
" crown, of great experience and known abilities,
" to confer with for the better preparing and con-
" ducting what was to be done in the house of
" commons : but the number of them was not so
" great as to give any umbrage. Nor did they meet
" oftener together with them, than upon accidents
" and contingencies was absolutely necessary ; but
" appointed those few who had a mutual confidence
" in each other, and every one of which had an
" influence upon others and advised them what to
" do, to meet by themselves, either at the lord
" Bridgman's or Mr. Attorney's chambers, who still
" gave notice to the other two of what was neces-
" sary, and received advice. That there were very
" few of any notable consideration, who did not fre-
" quently repair to both d of them, either to dine
" with them or to perform some office of civility ;
" with every one of whom they conferred, and said
" what was necessary to inform e them what was fit
" for them to do.
" That two of those who were named by his ma-
" jesty, Mr. Clifford and Mr. Churchill, were honest
d frequently repair to both] c inform] inform and oblige
frequent to both
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 209
" gentlemen, and received the advice they were to 1663.
" follow from sir Hugh Pollard, who had in truth a~~
" very particular influence upon all the Cornish and
" Devonshire men. And that his majesty might
" know that he had not been well informed, that the
" others named by him took it unkindly that they
" did not know his pleasure, who were leading men,
" as indeed they were ; he assured his majesty that
" there was not one of those, who was not particu-
" larly consulted with, and advertised by some per-
" son who was chosen by every one of them for that
" purpose f ; and that they would by no means resort
*' to any meeting, fearing to undergo the odious
" name of undertakers, which in all parliaments hath
" been a brand : but as they had never opposed any
" thing that related to his service, so upon any pri-
" vate insinuation they had been ready to propose
" any thing which would not have been so accept-
" able from any, who had been known to have rela-
" tion to his service, or to depend upon those who
" had."
He besought his majesty to consider, " whether
" any thing had hitherto, in near three years, fallen
" out amiss, or short of what he had expected, in
" the wary administration that had been in that
" affair ;" and did not coriceal his own fears, " that
" putting it into a more open and wider channel,
" his majesty's own too public speaking with the
" members of parliament, and believing what every
" man who was present told him passed in debates,
" and who for want of comprehension as well as me-
" mory committed many mistakes in their relations,
f purpose] person
VOL. II. P
1663. " would be attended with some, inconveniences not
~ " easy to b.e remedied." The king was not dissa-
tisfied with the discourse, but seemed to approve
it: however he would have sir Harry Bennet, Mr.
Clifford, and Churchill, called to the next meeting ;
and because they were to be introduced into com-
pany they had not used to converse with, that it
should be at the chancellor's chamber, who should
let the rest know the good opinion his majesty had
of those who were added to the number.
An aitera- fjv tnjs means and with these circumstances this
tion in the
manage- alteration was made in the conduct of the king's
ment of the . . . . ,
house of service in the parliament ; upon which many other
' alterations followed by degrees, though not at once.
Yet presently it appeared, that this introduction of
new confidents was not acceptable to those, who
thought they had very well discharged their trust.
Sir Harry Bennet was utterly unknown to them, a
man unversed in any business, who never had nor
ever was like to speak in the house, except in his
ear who sat next him to the disadvantage of some
who had spoken, and had not the faculties to get
himself beloved, and was thought by all men to be
a Roman catholic, for which they had not any other
reason but from his indifference in all things which
concerned the church. i,
When they met first at the chancellor's chamber,
as the king had directed, they conferred freely toge-
ther with little difference of opinion : though it ap-
peared that they, who had used to be together be-
fore, did not use the same freedom as formerly in
delivering their particular judgments, not having
confidence enough in the new comers, who in their
private meetings afterwards took more upon them,
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 211
rather to direct than to advise ; so that the other 1 663.
grew unsatisfied in their conversation 8. And though
the meetings continued at one of the places before
mentioned, some always discontinued their attend-
ance ; so that by degrees there were less resolutions
taken than had been formerly ; nor was there so
cheerful a concurrence, or so speedy a despatch of
the business depending in the house, as had been.
However, there appeared nothing of disunion in
the parliament, but the same zeal and concurrence
in all things which related to the king. The mur-
murs and discontents were most in the country,
where the people began to talk with more license
and less reverence of the court and of the king him-
self, and to reproach the parliament for their raising so
much money, and increasing of the impositions upon
the kingdom, without having done any thing for the
redress of any grievance that lay upon the people.
The license with reference to religion grew every
day greater, the conventicles more frequent and
more insolent, which disturbed the country exceed-
ingly ; but not so much as the liberty the papists
assumed, who behaved themselves with indiscretion,
and bragged as if they had a toleration and cared
not what the magistrates could do. The parliament
had a desire to have provided against those evils
with the same rigour : but though there would have
been a general consent in any provision that could
be made against the fanatics and the conventicles,
yet there would not be the like concurrence against
the papists ; and it was not possible to carry on the
one without the other. And therefore the court,
s conversation] conversion.
P 2
212 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. that they might be sure to prevent the last, inter-
"rupted all that was proposed against the former,
which they wished provided against, and chose to
have neither out of fear of both ; which increased
the disorders in the country, and caused more reflec-
tions upon the court : so that this session of parlia-
ment produced less of moment than any other.
And the king, after they had given him four sub-
sidies, which was all the money they could be drawn
to give, that he might part as kindly with them as
he used to do, and upon discovery of several sedi-
tious meetings amongst the officers of the disbanded
army, which he could best suppress when he had
most leisure, he resolved to prorogue the parliament.
And so sending for them upon the twenty-seventh
of July, he thanked them for the present which
The king's they had made to him of the four subsidies, " which,"
speech at »
the proro- he told them, " he would not have received from
gation of . . « . ., r> t •
the pariiar " them, if it were not absolutely necessary for their
" peace and quiet as well as his : and that it would
" yet do him very little good, if he did not improve
" it by very good husbandry of his own ; and by re-
" trenching those very expenses, which in many
*' respects might be thought necessary enough. But
" they should see that he would much rather im-
" pose upon himself, than upon his subjects ; and
" that if all men would follow his example in re-
" trenching their expenses, (which possibly they
" might do with much more convenience than he
" could *do his,) the kingdom would in short time
" gain what they - had given him that day." He
told them, " he was very glad that they were going
" into their several countries, where their presence
" would do much good : and he hoped their vigi-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 213
" lance and authority would prevent those disturb- 1663.
" ances, which the restless spirits of ill and unquiet ~~
" men would be always contriving, and of which his
" majesty did assure them they promised themselves
" some effects that summer. And that there had
" been more pains and unusual ways taken to kindle
" the old fatal fears and jealousies, than he thought
" he should ever have lived to have seen, at least to
" have seen so countenanced."
He told them, " that he had expected to have had
" some bills presented to him against the several dis-
'* tempers in religion, against seditious conventicles,
" and against the growth of popery : but that it
" might be they had been in some fear of reconciling
" those contradictions in religion into some conspi-
" racy against the public peace, to which himself
" doubted men of the most contrary motives in con-
" science were inclinable enough. He did promise
" them that he would lay that business to heart,
" and the mischiefs which might flow from those li-
" censes ; and if he lived to meet with them again,
" as he hoped he should, he would himself take care
" to present two bills to them to that end. And
" that, as he had already given it in charge to the
"judges, in their several circuits, to use their utmost
" endeavours to prevent and punish the scandalous
" and seditious meetings of sectaries, and to convict
" the papists ; so he would be as watchful, and take
" all the pains he could, that neither the one or the
" other should disturb the peace of the kingdom."
And adding many gracious expressions of his esteem
and confidence in their affections, he caused them
to be prorogued towards the end of March, which
would be the beginning of the year 1664.
p 3
214 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 663. The king had an intention at that time to have pre-
The king pared against the next meeting two such bills as he
prepare two mentioned to them, and was well enough content
^'els aag*'s"f that the parliament had not presented such to him,
and sect- which he well foresaw would not have been such as
anes.
he should have been pleased with. He would have
liked the most rigorous acts against all the other
factions in religion, but did not think the papists
had deserved the same severities, which would have
been provided against them with the other, it being
very apparent, that the kingdom generally had re-
sumed their old jealousies of them, provoked by the
very unwary behaviour of that people, who bragged
of more credit in the court than they could justify,
though most men thought they had too much : and
- that was the reason that he had commanded the
chancellor to require the judges, who were then be-
ginning their circuits, to cause the Roman catholics
to be convicted, which he believed would allay much
of the jealousies in the country, as for the present
it did. And then he resolved to cause two such
bills to be prepared for several reasons, of which the
principal was, that he might divide them into two
bib's ; presuming that when he had sent one against
either, they would not affect reducing both into
one, which was that which the catholic party most
apprehended.
imprudent His majesty was himself very unsatisfied with the
.!f the' pa- imprudent carriage of the catholics, and thought
they did affect too much to appear as if they stood
upon the level with all other subjects : and he re-
ceived very particular and unquestionable informa-
tion, that some priests had made it an argument to
some whom they endeavoured to make their prose-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 215
lytes, " that the king was of their religion in his 1663.
" heart, and would shortly declare it to all the world;" '
with which his majesty was marvellously offended,
and did heartily desire that any of those indiscreet
persons might be proceeded against with severity.
Yet he had no mind that any man should be put to
death, which could hardly be avoided if any man
should be brought to trial in the case aforesaid, ex-
cept he had granted his pardon, which with these
circumstances would have carried scandal in it. Be-
sides, he did think the wisest of that party had not
carried themselves with modesty enough, with what
was good for themselves and for his majesty's ho-
nour. And therefore he had, without imparting it
to any friends of theirs, given that direction to the
judges for convicting them, as the best means to re-
claim them to a better temper : and he had a pur-
pose, that the bill he meant should be prepared
should more effectually perform that part, without
exposing them to any notable inconveniences in
their persons or their fortunes, if they behaved them-
selves well and warily.
He did believe, that it was necessary for his ser- The king
. 1-111 « -i i • « i designs to
vice that they should be all convicted, that it might have the
be evident to himself what their numbers consisted JJJ2! c<
of and amounted to, which he believed would be
found much inferior to what they were generally
computed, and then the danger from their power
would not be thought so formidable : and it could
be no prejudice to them without a further proceed-
ing upon their conviction, which he was resolved to
restrain, as he well might, and had done hitherto ;
resolving within himself, that no man should suffer
under those penal laws which had been made against
P 4
216 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 663. them in the age before, if they lived like good sub-
jects, and administered no occasion of scandal. And
as he was not reserved in declaring that his gracious
purpose towards them, (as hath been said before ;)
so hitherto it had not been attended by any mur-
murs : and yet he was not without a purpose of
keeping such a power over them, as might make
them wholly depend upon him.
His majesty did, in his judgment and inclination,
put a great difference between those Roman catho-
lics, who being of ancient extraction had continued
of the same religion from father to son, without
having ever been protestant, amongst whom there
were very few who had not behaved themselves very
worthily ; and those, who since the late troubles had
apostatized from the church of England to that of
the Roman, without any such evidence of conscience,
as might not administer just reason to suspect, that
their inducements had been from worldly tempta-
tions. And he did resolve in his bill to make a
distinction between those classes, and to prevent, or
at least to discourage, those lapses which fell out too
frequently in the court ; nor did men believe that
they need make any apology for it, but appeared
the more confidently in all places. He did resolve
likewise to contract and lessen the number of the
ecclesiastical persons, who upon missions resorted
hither as to an infidel nation, (which was and is a
grievance that the catholics would be glad to be
eased in,) and to reduce them into such an order
and method by this bill, that he might himself
know the names of all priests remaining in the king-
dom, and their several stations where they resided ;
which must have produced such a security to those
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 217
who stayed, and to those with whom they stayed, 1663.
as would have set them free from any apprehension ~
of any penalties imposed by preceding parliaments.
But this design (which comprehended many other Measures
. . . ,. , taken to
particulars) vanished as soon as it was discovered, frustrate his
The king's own discourse of a bill that he would design*
cause to be drawn against the Roman catholics
awakened great jealousies; nor did they want in-
struments or opportunities to discover what the
meaning of it could be. Nor was the king reserved
in the argument, but communicated it with those
who he knew were well affected to that party, and
to one or two of themselves who were reputed to be
moderate men, and to desire nothing but the exer-
cise of their religion with the greatest secrecy and
caution, and who often informed him and com-
plained " of the folly and vanity of some of their
*' friends, and more particularly of the presumption
" of the Jesuits." And such kind of factions and di-
visions there are amongst them, which might be cul-
tivated to very happy productions : but such inge-
nuity, as to be contented with what might gratify
all their own pretences, there is not amongst them.
These moderate men complained already, " that
" the king was deceived by their enemy the chan-
" cellor," who indeed was generally very odious to
them, for no other reason, but because they knew
he was irreconcileable to their profession ; not that
they thought he desired that the laws should be put
in execution against them ; and some of the chief of
them believed him to be much their friend, and had
obligations to him. But they all lamented this di-
rection given to the judges for their conviction,
" which," they informed the king, "was the necessary
218 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. " preamble to the highest persecution the law had
~~" prepared against them. That till they were con-
" victed they were in the same predicament with
" the rest of his subjects ; but as soon as they were
" convicted," (which the judges now caused to be
prosecuted throughout the kingdom,) " they were
" liable to all the other penalties, which his majesty
" was inclined to protect them from." They pre-
sented to him a short memorial of the disadvantages
which were consequent to a conviction, in which
they alleged some particulars which were not clear
in the law, at least had never been practised in the
severest times.
Though the king had well weighed all he had
done before he did it, and well knew, after all their
insinuations and allegations, that none of those in-
conveniences could ensue to them, if he restrained
any further prosecution, which he always had in-
tended to do ; yet they wrought so far upon him,
that he was even sorry that he had proceeded so
far : and though it was not fit to revoke any part of
it, yet he cared not how little it was advanced. And
for the bill he meant to present in the next session^
they said, " all their security and quiet they had en-
" joyed since his majesty's happy return depended
" wholly upon the general opinion, that he had fa-
" vour for them, and satisfaction in their duty and
" obedience as good subjects, and their readiness to
" do him any service, which they would all make
" good with their lives and all that they had. But
" if he should now discover any jealousy of their
" fidelities, and that there was need of a new law
" against them, which his purpose of providing a bill
" implied, what mitigation soever his majesty in-
EDWARD EAUL OF CLARENDON. 219
" tended in it, it would not be in his majesty's power 1663.
" to restrain the passion of other men ; but all those"
" animosities which had been hitherto covered and
" concealed, as grateful to him, would upon this oc-
" casion break out to their destruction : and there-
" fore they hoped, that whatever bitterness the par-
" liament might express against them when they
" came together, they should receive no invitation
" or encouragement by any jealousy or displeasure
" his majesty should manifest to have towards
" them."
These and the like arguments, or the credit of The king
those who urged them, made that impression, thatC'puTpose.
he declined any further thought of that bill ; nor was
there ever after mention of it. The catholics grew
bolder in all places, and conversant in those rooms of
the court into which the king's chaplains never pre-
sumed to enter ; and to crown all their hopes, the
lady declared herself of that faith, and inveighed
sharply against the church she had been bred in.
During the interval of the parliament, there was
not such a vacation from trouble and anxiety as was
expected. The domestic unquietness in the court
made every day more noise abroad: infinite scan-
dals and calumnies were scattered amongst the
people ; and they expressed their discontents upon Discontents
the great taxes and impositions which they were"ry.ie
compelled to pay, and publicly reproached the par-
liament ; when they were in truth vexed and grieved
at heart for that which they durst not avow, and
did really believe that God was angry with the na-
tion, and resolved to exercise it under greater tri-
bulation than he had so lately freed them from.
The general want of money was complained of, and
220 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 663. a great decay of trade ; so that the native commo-
"dities of the kingdom were not transported. Yet
both these were but pretences, and resulted from
combinations rather than from reason. For it ap-
peared by the customs, that the trade was greater
than it had ever been, though some of our native
commodities, especially cloth, seemed for some time
to be at a stand ; which proceeded rather from the
present glut, which in the general license the inter-
lopers had irregularly transported in great quan-
tities, by which the prices were brought low, and
could only be recovered by a restraint for some time,
which the merchant adventurers put upon them-
selves, and would have put upon the interlopers, who
were at last too hard for them, even upon the mat-
ter to the suppressing the company, that had stood
in great reputation for very many years, and had
advanced that manufacture to a great height ; and
whether it deserved that discountenance, time must
decide. How unreasonable the other discourse was
of want of money, there needs no other argument,
but the great purchases which were every day made
of great estates ; nor was any considerable parcel of
land in any part of England offered to be sold, but
there was a purchaser at hand ready to buy it.
However, these pretences, together with the sud-
den bringing up all the money, that was collected
for the king, in specie to London, which proceeded
from the bankers' advancing so much present money
for the emergent occasions, for which they had
those assignments upon the money of the country,
A sudden did really produce such a sudden fall of the rents
ts< throughout the kingdom, as had never been known
before : so that men were compelled to abate gene-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 221
rally a fourth part of their annual rents at the least, l 663.
or to take their lands into their own hands, for"
which they were as ill provided. All this mischief
fell upon the nobility and greatest gentry, who were
owners of the greatest estates, every body whose es-
tate lay in land undergoing a share in the suffering,
which made the discontent general ; which they
thought the best way h to remedy would be to raise
no more taxes, which they took to be the cause why
the rents fell. In the mean time the expenses of
the court, and of all who depended upon it, grew
still higher, and the king himself less intent upon
his business, and more loved his pleasures, to which
he prescribed no limits, nor to the expenses which
could not but accompany them.
There was cause enough to be jealous of the pub- Danger of
lie peace; there being every day discoveries madetion.
of private meetings and conferences between officers
of the old army ; and that correspondences were
settled between them throughout the kingdom in a
wonderful method ; and that they had a grand com-
mittee residing in London, who had the supreme
power, and which sent orders to all the rest, who
were to rise in one day, and meet at several ren-
dezvouses. Hereupon several persons were appre-
hended and committed to prison ; and the king him-
self often took the pains to examine them ; and
they confessed commonly more to his majesty him-
self than upon any other examination. Proclama-
tions issued often for the banishing all officers who
had ever borne arms against the king twenty miles
from London, which did more publish the apprehen-
sion of new troubles.
11 way] Omitted in MS.
an insurrec-
CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
J 663. There can be no doubt, but that there were many
seditious purposes amongst that people, of which
there often appeared so full evidence, that many
were executed for high treason, who were tried and
condemned by the judges at their1 general sessions
at Newgate : yet there was often cause to believe
that many men were committed, who in truth had
not been more faulty, than in keeping ill company
and in hearing idle discourses. Informing was
grown a trade, which many affected to get money
by : and as the king's ministers could not reject in
a time of so much jealousy, so the receiving them
gave them great trouble ; for few of them were will-
ing to be produced as evidence against those they
accused, pretending, sometimes with reason, "that
" if they were known they should be rendered use-
" less for the future, whereas they were yet unsus-
" pected and admitted into all councils." All the
sects in religion spake with more boldness in their
meetings, and met more frequently, than they had
used to do in the times that sir Richard Browne
and sir John Robinson had been lord mayors ; and
the officers who succeeded them proved less vigilant.
A general despondency seemed to possess the minds
of men, as if they little cared what came to pass ;
which did not proceed so much from malice, as from
the disease of murmuring, which had been contract-
ing above twenty years, and became almost incorpo-
rated into the nature of the nation.
An intrigue There happened about this time an alteration in
in the
court to ad- the court, that produced afterwards many other alter-
H. Rennet, ations which were not then suspected, yet even at
1 their] the
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 223
that time was not liked in the court itself, and less 1663.
out of it. The keeper of the privy purse, who was""
more fit for that province than for any other to
which he could be applied, did not think himself yet
preferred to a station worthy of his merit and great
qualifications. Some promises the king had made
to him when he was at Fuentarabia, and had long
much kindness for his person and much delight in
his company : so that his friend, Mr. O'Neile, who
was still ready to put his majesty in mind of all his
services, had nothing hard to do but to find a va-
cancy that might give opportunity for his advance-
ment ; and he was dexterous in making opportuni-
ties which he could not find, and made no 'scruple to
insinuate to the king, " that the abilities of neither
" of -his secretaries were so great but that he might
" be better served." Indeed his majesty, who did
not naturally love old men, had not so much esteem
of them as their parts and industry and integrity
deserved, and would not have been sorry if either or
both of them had died.
Secretary Nicholas had served the crown very character
many years with a very good acceptation, was made Ni
secretary of state by the late king, and loved and
trusted by him in his nearest concernments to his
death : nor had any man, who served him, a more
general reputation of virtue and piety and unques-
tionable integrity throughout the kingdom. He
was a man to whom the rebels had been always ir-
reconcileable ; and from the end of the war lived in
banishment beyond the seas, was with his majesty
from the time he left France (for whilst the king
was in France with his mother, to whom the secre-
tary was not gracious, he remained at a distance ;
224 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. but from the time that his majesty came into Ger-
many he was always with him) in the exercise of
the same function he had under his father, and re-
turned into England with him, with hope to repair
his fortune by the just perquisites of his office, which
had been very much impaired by his long sufferings
and banishment. He had neVer been in his youth
a man of quick and sudden parts, but full of industry
and application, (which it may be is the better com-
position,) and always versed in business and all the
forms of despatch. He was now some years above
seventy, yet truly performed his office with punctu-
ality, and to the satisfaction of all men who repaired
to him : and the king thought it an envious as well
as an ill-natured thing, to discharge such an officer
because he hadk lived too long.
of secretary The other secretary was secretary Morrice, whose
Mornce. J
merit had been his having transacted all that had
been between the king and the general, which was
thought to be much more than it was. Yet he had
behaved himself very well, and as much disposed
the general as he was capable of being disposed ;
and his majesty had preferred him to that office
purely to gratify and oblige the general; and he
had behaved himself very honestly and diligently in
the king's service, and had a good reputation in the
house of commons, and did the business of his office
without reproach. He had lived most part of his
time in the country, with the repute of a wise man
and a very good scholar, as indeed he was both in
the Latin and Greek learning; but being without
any knowledge in the modern languages, he gave
k had] Omitted in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 225
the king often occasion to laugh at his unskilful 1663.
pronunciation of many words. In the Latin de-~
spatches, which concern all the northern parts, he
was ready, and treated with those ambassadors flu-
ently and elegantly ; and for all domestic affairs no
man doubted his sufficiency, except in the garb and
mode and humour of the court.
And the inducement that brought him in made it
unfit to remove him, lest it might grieve the general,
whose friend and kinsman he was: so that there
was no expedient to provide for sir Harry Bennet,
but by removing secretary Nicholas by his own con-
sent ; for the king would not do it otherwise to so old
and faithful a servant. And his majesty was the
more inclined to it, because it would give him the
opportunity to bring another person into the office
of the privy purse, of whom he was lately grown
very fond, and towards whom he had, when he
came into England, a greater aversion than to any
gentleman who had been abroad with him ; and that
was sir Charles Berkley, who was then captain of
the duke of York's guard, and much in the good
grace of his royal highness.
Whilst this intrigue was contriving and depend-
ing, great care was taken that it might not come to
the notice of the chancellor, lest if he could not di-
vert the king from desiring it, which they believed
he would not attempt, he might dissuade his old
friend the secretary, with whom he had held a long
and particular friendship, from hearkening to any
proposition, or accepting l any composition ; which
they believed not unreasonably that the other would
1 accepting] to accept
VOL. II. Q
226 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. be very solicitous in, as well to keep a man in,
""whom he could entirely trust, as to keep another
out, of whose abilities he had no esteem, and in
whose affection he had no confidence : and it was
thought by many, that the same apprehension pre-
vailed with the good old man himself to cherish the
secrecy. Certain it is, that the whole matter was
resolved and consented to, before ever the chancellor
had a suspicion of it.
O'Neile, who had always the skill to bring that
to pass by others which he could not barefaced ap-
pear in himself, insinuated to Mr. Ashburnham, who
pretended, and I think had, much friendship for the
secretary, " that the king thought the secretary too
" old to take so much pains, and often wished that
" his friends would persuade him to retire, that
" there might be a younger man in the office, who
" could attend upon his majesty at all hours and in
" all journeys ; but that his majesty always spake
" kindly of him, and as if he resolved to give him
" an ample recompense :" and in confidence told
him, " that the king had an impatient desire to
" have sir Harry Bennet secretary of state." Ash-
burnham was well versed in the artifices of court
too ; and thought he might very well perform the
office of a friend to his old confident, and at the
same time find a new and more useful friend for
himself, by having a hand in procuring a large satis-
faction for the old, and likewise facilitating the way
for the introduction of a new secretary, who could
not forget the obligation. So he told O'Neile, " that
" all the world knew that he had for many years pro-
" fessed a great friendship for secretary Nicholas,"
(they had been both servants at the same time to
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 227
the duke of Buckingham, when he was killed,) " and 1 6G3.
" that he should be much troubled to see him dis- ~~
" placed in his old age with contempt ; but if his
" majesty would dismiss him with honour and re-
" ward, that he might be able to provide for his wife
" and children, he would make no scruple to per-
" suade him to quit his employment." O'Neile had
all he looked for, and only enjoined him secrecy,
" that it might not come to the king's ear that he
" had communicated this secret to any man ; and
" he did presume, that before any resolution was
" taken in it, his majesty would speak of it to the
" chancellor."
Within a day or two the king sent for Ashburn-
ham, and told him " he knew he was a friend to
" the secretary, who was now grown old, and not
" able to take the pains he had done ; that he had
" served his father and himself very faithfully, and
" had spent his fortune in his service ; that if he
" were willing to retire, for without his consent he
" would do nothing, he would give him ten thou-
" sand pounds, or any other recompense he should
" choose," implying a title of honour : but intimated,
though he referred all to his own will, " that he
" wished, and that it would be acceptable to him,
" that the office might be vacant and at his ma-
" jesty's disposal."
He undertook the employment very cheerfully,
and quickly imparted all that had passed from the
king, and all that he knew before, to the secretary ;
who was not fond of the court, and thought he had
lived long enough there, having seen and observed
much that he was grieved at heart to see. He con-
sidered, that though this message was very gracious,
Q 2
228 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. and offered a noble reward for his service, it did
withal appear that the king did desire he should be
gone ; and having designed a successor to him, who
had already much credit with him, if he should
seem sullen or unwilling, he might in a short time
be put out without any consideration, or at most
with the promise of one. Thereupon he wished his
friend " to assure the king, that he would very
" readily do whatsoever his majesty thought neces-
" sary for his service ; but he hoped, that after
" above forty years spent in the service of the crown,
" he should not be exposed to disgrace and con-
" tempt. That he had a wife and children, who
" had all suffered with him in exile till his majesty's
" return, and for whom he could not make a com-
" petent provision without his majesty's bounty ;
" and therefore he hoped, that before his majesty
" required the signet, he would cause the recom-
" pense he designed to be more than what he had
" mentioned, and to be first paid."
This province could not be put into a fitter hand,
secretary for it was managed with notable skill. And as soon
resigns!8 as ^ was known that the secretary would willingly
resign, which was feared, and that only a better
recompense was expected, every body was willing
that the king should make™ the act look as gra-
ciously as might be, that the successor might be at-
tended with the less envy. And Mr. Ashburnham
cultivated their impatience so skilfully, that it cost
the king, in present money and land or lease, very
little less than twenty thousand pounds, to bring in
a servant whom very few cared for, in the place of
* m make] Omitted in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 229
an old servant whom every body loved : and he re- ] 663.
ceived all that was promised, before he resigned his "~
place. And if the change had been as good for the
king, as it was for the good old secretary, every body
would have been glad. And thus sir Harry Bennet sir H. Ben-
was at the king's charge accommodated, even to the "
satisfaction of his own ambition : and his majesty Jlfch
was as well pleased, that he had gotten sir Charles Berkley
privy purse.
Berkley into the other office about his person, whom
he every day loved with more passion, for what
reason no man knew nor could imagine.
And from this time they who stood at any near The chan-
distance could not but discern, that the chancellor's terest de-
interest and credit with the king manifestly declined : clmes'
not that either of these two pretended to be his rival,
or appeared to cross any thing in council that he
proposed or advised ; on the contrary, they both
professed great respect towards him. One of them,
being no privy counsellor, made great professions
and addresses to him by himself, and by some friends
who had much credit with him ; protested " against
" meddling at all in business, and that he only hoped
" to gain a fortune by his majesty's favour, upon
" which he might be able to live ;" nor did it appear
afterwards, that he did to his death wish that the
chancellor's power should be lessened : and the other
made all the professions imaginable of affection and
respect to him, and repaired upon occasions to him
for advice and for direction. Nor in truth could
either of them have done him any prejudice at that
time with the king by pretending to do it ; but by
pretending the contrary by degrees got power to
do it.
His majesty did not in the least degree withdraw
Q3
230 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. his favour from him, heard him as willingly, came
The king as often to him, was as little reserved in any thing ;
nueV^Tfa. onty *n one Particular he did with some solemnity
vour to him. conjure him never to mention it to him again, in
which he did not yet punctually obey him, nor avoid
seasonably saying any thing to him which he be-
lieved to be his duty, and which his majesty never
seemed to take ill. And whenever he spake to him
of either of the other two gentlemen, which he fre-
quently did with much kindness, he always added
somewhat of both their respects and esteem for him,
as a thing that pleased him well ; and said once,
" that it concerned them, for whenever he should
" discern it to be otherwise, he should make them
" repent it." Yet notwithstanding all this, from
that time counsels were not so secret, and greater
liberty was n taken to talk of the public affairs in
the evening conversation, than had been before^
when they happened sometimes to be shortly men-
tioned in the production of some wit or jest ; but
now they were often taken into debate, and censured
with too much liberty with reference to things and
persons; and the king himself was less fixed and
more irresolute in his counsels ; and inconvenient
grants came every day to the seal for the benefit of
particular persons, against which the king had par-
ticularly resolved, and at last by importunity would
have passed. Lastly, both these persons were most
devoted to the lady, and much depended upon her
interest, and consequently were ready to do any
thing that would be grateful to her.
There was another mischief contrived about this
n was] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 231
time, that had a much worse influence upon the 1663.
public, except we shall call it the same, because it
did in truth proceed from it. Though the public The first
c „ . . f .. rise of the
state of affairs, in respect ot the distempers and Dutch war.
discomposures which are mentioned before, and that
the expenses exceeded what was assigned to sup-
port it, whereby the great debt was little diminished,
yielded little delight to those who were most trusted
to manage and provide* for them, and who had a
melancholic and dreadful apprehension of conse-
quences : yet whilst the nation continued in peace,
and without any danger from any foreign enemy,
the0 prospect was so pleasant, especially to those
who stood at a distance, that they saw nothing wer-
thy of any man's fear ; and there was reasonable
hope, that the expenses might every year be re-
duced within reasonable bounds P. But all that
hope vanished, when there appeared an immoderate
desire to engage the nation in a war.
Upon the king's first arrival in England, he ma-
nifested a very great desire to improve the general
traffick and trade of the kingdom, and upon all oc-
casions conferred with the most active merchants
upon it, and offered all that he could contribute to
the advancement thereof. He erected a council of
trade, which produced little other effect than the
opportunity of men's speaking together, which pos-
sibly disposed them to think more, and to consult
more effectually in private, than they could in such
a crowd of commissioners. Some merchants and sea-
men made a proposition by Mr. William Coventry
and some few others to the duke of York, " for the
" the] that the '' bounds] hopes
Q 4
CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. " erection of a company in which they desired his
The erec- " royal highness to preside," (and from thence it
^AW! was called the R°yal Company,) " to which his ma-
can com- « jesty should grant the sole trade of Guinea, which
" in a short time they presumed would bring great
" advantage to the public, and much profit to the
" adventurers, who should begin upon a joint stock,
" to be managed by a council of such as should be
" chosen out of the adventurers."
This privilege had before the troubles been f'
granted by the late king to sir Nicholas Crisp and
others named by him, who had at their own charge
sent ships thither : and sir Nicholas had at his own
charge bought a nook of ground, that lay into the
sea, of the true owners thereof, (all that coast being
inhabited by heathens,) and built thereon a good fort
and warehouses, under which the ships lay ; and he
had advanced this trade so far before the troubles,
that he found it might be carried on with very great
benefit. After the rebellion began, and sir Nicholas
betook himself to serve the king, some merchants
continued the trade, and either by his consent or
Cromwell's power had^ the possession of that fort,
called Cormantine ; which was still in the possession
of the English when his majesty returned, though
the trade was small, in respect the Dutch had fixed
a stronger quarter at no great distance from it, and
sent much more ships and commodities thither, and
returned once r every year to their own country with
much wealth. The chief end of this trade was, be-
sides the putting off great quantities of our own ma-
nufactures according as the trade should advance, to
'i been] Omitted in MS. ' once] one
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 233
return with gold, which that coast produced in good 1663.
quantity, and with slaves, blacks, which were readily ~
sold to any plantation at great prices.
The model was so well prepared, and the whole
method for governing the trade so rationally pro-
posed, that the duke was much pleased with it, and
quickly procured a charter to be granted from the A charter
. , , . ., .granted to
king to this company with ample privileges, and it.
his majesty himself to become an adventurer, and,
which was more, to assist them for the first esta-
blishment of their trade with the use of some of
his own ships. The duke was the governor of the
company, with power to make a deputy : all the
other officers and council were chosen by the com-
pany, which consisted of persons of honour and
quality, every one of which brought in five hundred
pounds for the first joint stock, with which they set
out the first ships ; upon the return whereof they
received so much encouragement and benefit, that
they compounded with sir Nicholas Crisp for his
propriety in the fort and castle ; and possessed
themselves of another place upon the coast, and
sent many ships thither, which made very good re-
turns, by putting off their blacks at the Barbadoes
and other the king's plantations at their own prices,
and brought home such store of gold that admin-,
istered the first occasion for the coinage of those
pieces, which from thence had the denomination of
guineas; and what was afterwards made of the
same species, was coined of the gold that was
brought from that coast by the royal company. In
a word, if that company be not broken or disordered
by the jealousy that the gentlemen adventurers have
of the merchants, and their opinion that they under-
234 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 663. stand the mysteries of trade as well as the other, by
"" which they refuse to concur in the necessary expe-
dients proposed by the other, and interpose unskil-
ful overtures of their own with pertinacy, it will be
found a model equally to advance the trade of Eng-
land with that of any other company, even that of
the East Indies.
From the first entrance into this trade, which the
duke was exceedingly disposed to advance, and was
constantly present himself at all councils, which
were held once a week in his own lodgings at White-
hall, it was easily discovered that the Dutch had a
better trade there than the English, which they were
then willing to believe that they had no right to, for
that the trade was first found out and settled there
by the English ; which was a sufficient foundation to
settle it upon this nation, and to exclude all others,
at least by the same law that the Spaniard enjoys
the West Indies, and the Dutch what they or the
Portuguese possessed in the East. But this they
quickly found would not establish such a title as
would bear a dispute : the having sent a ship or
two thither, and built a little fort, could not be al-
lowed such a possession as would exclude all other
nations. And the truth was, the Dutch were there
some time before us, and the Dane before either:
and the Dutch, which was the true grievance, had
planted themselves more advantageously, upon the
bank of a river, than we had done ; and by the erec-
tion of more forts were more strongly seated; and
drove a much greater trade, which they did not be-
lieve they would be persuaded to quit. This drew
the discourse from the right to the easiness, by the
assistance of two or three of the king's ships, to
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 235
take away all that the Dutch possessed in and about 1663.
Guinea, there having never been a ship of war seen "
in those parts ; so that the work might be presently
done, and such an alliance made with the natives,
who did not love the Dutch, that the English might s
be unquestionably possessed of the whole trade of
that country, which would be of inestimable profit
to the kingdom.
The merchants took much delight to enlarge
themselves upon this argument, and shortly after to
discourse " of the infinite benefit that would accrue
" from a barefaced war against the Dutch, how easily
" they might be subdued, and the trade carried by
" the English. That Cromwell had always beaten
" them, and thereby gotten the greatest glory he
" had, and brought them upon then- knees ; and
" could totally have subdued them, if he had not
" thought it more for his interest to have such a
" second, whereby he might the better support his
" usurpation against the king. And therefore, after
" they had consented to all the infamous conditions
" of the total abandoning his majesty, and as far as
" in them lay to the extirpation of all the royal fa-
" mily, and to a perpetual exclusion of the prince of
" Orange, he made a firm peace with them ; which
" they had not yet performed, by their retaining
'* still the island of Poleroone, which they had so
" long since barbarously taken from the English,
" and which they had expressly promised and un-
" dertaken to deliver in the last treaty, after Crom-
" well had compelled them to pay a great sum of
" money for the damages which the English had
s might] may
236 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. " sustained at Amboyna, when all the demands and
~~ " threats from king James could never procure any
" satisfaction for that foul action."
The duke of These discourses, often reiterated in season and
York much
for it. out of season, made a very deep impression in the
duke ; who having been even from his childhood in
the command in armies, and in his nature inclined
to the most difficult and dangerous enterprises, was
already weary of having so little to do, and too im-
patiently longed for any war, in which he knew he
could not but have the chief command. But these
kind of debates, or l the place in which they were
made, could contribute little to an affair of so huge
an importance, otherwise" than by inciting the
duke, which they did too much, to consider and af-
fect it, and to dispose others who were near him to
inculcate the same thoughts into him, as an argu-
ment in which his honour would be much exalted in
the eye of all the world : and to these x good offices
they were enough disposed by the restlessness and
unquietness of their own natures, and by many
other motives for the accomplishing their own
designs, and getting more power into their own
hands.
But there was lately, very lately, a peace fully
concluded with the States General upon the same
terms, articles, and conditions, which they had for-
merly yielded to Cromwell, being very much more
advantageous than they had ever granted in any
treaty to the crown. And at the time of the con-
clusion of the peace, they delivered their orders
from the States General and their East India com-
1 or] nor " otherwise] other x these] the
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 237
pany for the delivery of the island of Poleroone to 1 663.
the English, which y Cromwell himself had extorted ~~
from them with the greatest difficulty : so that
there was now no colour of justice to make a war
upon them. Besides that there were at present
great jealousies from Spain upon the marriage with
Portugal ; nor did France, which had broken pro-
mise in making a treaty with Holland, make any
haste to renew the treaty with England. And
therefore it could not but seem strange to all men,
that when we had only made a treaty of peace with
Holland, and that so newly, and upon so long con-
sideration, and had none with either of the crowns,
we should so much desire to enter into a war with
them.
However, the duke's heart was set upon it, and
he loved to speak of it, and the benefits which would
attend it. He spake of it to the king, whom he The king
found no ways inclined to it, and therefore he knewt0°itmc
it was unfit to propose it in council : yet he spake
often of it to such of the lords of whom he had the
best opinion, and found many of them to concur
with him in the opinion of the advantages which
might arise from thence. And sometimes he thought
he left the king disposed to it, by an argument
which he found prevailed with many : " that the
" differences and jealousies in point of trade, which
" did every day fall out and would every day in-
" crease between the English and the Dutch, who
" had in the late distractions gotten great advan-
" tages, would unavoidably produce a war between
" them ; and then that the question only was, whe-
y which] and which
238 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. " ther it were not better for us to begin it now,
~ " when they do not expect it, and we are better
" prepared for it than probably we shall be then ;
" or to stay two or three years, in which the same
" jealousy would provoke them to be well provided,
" when probably we might not be ready. That we
" had the best sea officers in the world, many of.
" whom had often beaten the Dutch, and knew how
" to do it again ; and a multitude of excellent mari-
" ners and common seamen : all which, if they
" found that nothing would be done at home, would
" disperse themselves in merchant voyages to the
" Indies and the Straits ; and probably so many
" good men would never be found together again."
And with such arguments he many times thought
that he left the king much moved : but when he
spake to him again (though he knew that he had no
kindness for the Dutch) his majesty was changed,
and very averse to a war ; which he imputed to
The chan- the chancellor, who had .not dissembled, as often as
poses itS*" his highness spake to him, to be passionately and
obstinately against it. And he did take all the op-
portunities he could find to confirm the king in his
aversion to it, who was in his heart averse from it,
by presenting to him the state of his own affairs,
" the great debt that yet lay upon him, which with
" peace and good husbandry might be in some time
" paid ; but a war would involve him in so much
" greater, that no man could see the end of it. That
" he would be able to preserve himself against the
" factions and distempers in his own kingdom, and
" probably suppress them, if he were without a fo-
" reign enemy : but if he should be engaged in a
" war abroad, his domestic divisions, especially those
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 239
" in religion, would give him more trouble than he 1663.
" could well struggle withal.
" That it was an erroneous assumption, that the
" Dutch would be better provided for a war two or
" three years hence, and his majesty worse, for
" which there was no reason. That within that
" time it would be his own fault, if the distempers
" in his three kingdoms were not composed, which
" would make him much fitter for a war ; whereas
" now neither of them could be said to be in peace,
" that of Ireland being totally unsettled, and that of
" Scotland not yet well pleased, and England far
" from it. That in that time it was very probable
" that the two crowns would be again engaged in a
" war ; since it was generally believed, and with
" great reason, that France only expected the death
" of the king of Spain, who was very infirm, and
" meant then to fall into Flanders, having at the
" same time with great expense provided great ma-
" gazines of corn and hay upon the borders, which
" could be for no other end. That whilst he conti-
" nued in peace, his friendship would be valuable to
" all the princes of Europe, and the two crowns
" would strive who should gain him : but if he en-
" gaged in a war, and in such a war as that with z
" Holland, which would interrupt and disturb all
" the trade of the kingdom, upon which the greatest
" part of his revenue did rise ; all other princes
" would look on, and not much esteem any offices
" he could perform to them. And lastly, that a
" little time might possibly administer a just occa-
" sion of a war, which at present there was not."
•'• that witli] Not in MS.
240 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. These, and better arguments which the king's
"own understanding suggested to him, made him
fully resolve against the war, and to endeavour to
change his brother from affecting it, which wrought
not at all upon him ; but finding that many things
fell from the king in the argument, which had been
alleged to himself by the chancellor, he concluded
the mischief came from him, and was displeased ac-
The duke cordingly, and complained to his wife, " that her fa-
with him " ther should oppose him in an affair upon which he
" knew his heart was so much set, and of which
" every body took so much notice ;" which troubled
her very much. And she very earnestly desired her
father, " that he would no more oppose the duke in
" that matter." He answered her, " that she did
" not enough understand the consequence of that
" affair ; but that he would take notice to the duke
" of what she had said, and give him the best an-
" swer he could." And accordingly he waited upon
the duke, who very frankly confessed to him, " that
" he took it very unkindly, that he should so posi-
*' tively endeavour to cross a design so honourable
" in itself, anda so much desired by the city of Lon-
" don ; and he was confident it b would be very
" grateful to the parliament, and that they would
" supply the king with money enough to carry it
" on, which would answer the chief objection. That
" he was engaged to pursue it, and he could not but
" be sorry and displeased, that every body should
" see how little credit he had with him."
ceiior satis- The chancellor told him, " that he had no appre-
duke.be " hension that any sober man in England, or his
a and] Not in M.S. b it] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON.
" highness himself, should believe that he could 16(53.
" fail in his duty to him, or that he would omit~~
" any opportunity to make it manifest, which he
" could never do without being a fool or a madman.
" On the other hand, he could never give an advice,
" or consent to it whoever gave it, which in his
" judgment and conscience would be very mischiev,-
" ous to the crown and to the kingdom, though his
" royal highness or the king himself were inclined
'? to it." He did assure him, " that he found the
" king very averse from any thought of this war, be-
" fore he ever discovered his own opinion of it ;"
but denied not, "that he had taken all opportuni-
" ties to confirm him in that judgment by argu-
" ments that he thought could not be answered ;
" and that the consequence of that war would be
" very pernicious. That he did presume that many
" good men, with whom he had conferred, did seem
" to concur with his highness out of duty to him,
" arid as they saw it would be grateful to him, or
" upon a sudden, and without making those reflec-
" tions which would afterwards occur to them, and
" make them change their minds. That a few mer-
" chants, nor all the merchants in London, were
. " not c the city of London, . which had had war
" enough, and could only become rich by peace.
" That he did not think the parliament would be
" forward to encourage that war ; nor should the
" king be desirous that they should interpose their
" advice in it, since it was a subject entirely in the
" king's own determination : but if they should ap-
" pear never so forward in it, he was old enough to
c not] Omitted in MS.
VOL. II. R
CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. " remember when a parliament did advise, and upon
" the matter compel, his grandfather king James to
" enter into a war with Spain, upon promise of
" ample supplies ; and yet when he was engaged in
" it, they gave him no more supply ; so that at last
" the crown was compelled to accept of a peace not
" very honourable."
Beside the arguments he had used to the king,
he besought his highness to reflect upon some others
more immediately relating to himself, "upon the
" want of able men to conduct the counsels upon
" which such a war must be carried on ; how few
" accidents might expose the crown to those dis-
" tresses, that it might with more difficulty be
" buoyed up than it had lately been ;" with many
other arguments, which he thought made some im-
The design pression upon the duke. And for some months
fo- the pre- . .
sent drop- there was no more mention or discourse in the
court of the war ; though they who first laid the de-
sign still cultivated it, and made little doubtd of
bringing it at last to pass.
The sale At or about this time there was a transaction of
great importance, which at the time was not popular
nor indeed understood, and afterwards was objected
against the chancellor in his misfortunes, as a princi-
pal argument of his infidelity and corruption ; which
was the sale of Dunkirk: the whole proceeding where-
of shall be plainly and exactly related from the be-
ginning to the end thereof.
The charge and expense the crown was at ; the
pay of the land forces and garrisons; the great
fleets set out to sea for the reduction of the Turkish
(1 doubt] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 243
pirates of Algiers and Tunis, and for guarding the j 663.
narrow seas, and security of the merchants ; the
constant yearly charge of the garrison of Dunkirk, of
,that at Tangier, and the vast expense of building a
mole there, for which there was an establishment,
together with the garrisons at Bombay ne and in
Jamaica, (none of which had been known to the
crown in former times ;) and the lord treasurer's
frequent representation of all this to the king, as so
prodigious an expense as could never be supported ;
had put his majesty to frequent consultations how
he might lessen and save any part of it. But no
expedient could be resolved upon. The lord trea-
surer, who was most troubled when money was
wanted, had many secret conferences with the ge-
neral and with the best seamen, of the benefit that
accrued to the crown by keeping of Dunkirk ; the
constant charge and expense whereof amounted to
above one hundred and twenty thousand pounds
yearly : and he found by them that it was a place
of little importance. It is true that he had- con-
ferred of it with the chancellor, with whom he held
a fast friendship ; but found him so averse from it, The chan-
that he resolved to speak with him no more, till the against it.
king had taken some resolution. And to that pur-
pose he persuaded the general to go with him to
the king and to the duke of York, telling them both,
" that the chancellor must know nothing of it :"
and after several debates the king thought it so
counsellable a thing, that he resolved to have it de-
bated before that committee which he trusted in his
most secret affairs ; and the chancellor being then
lame of the gout, he commanded that all those lords
should attend him at his house. Beside his majesty
R 2
244 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. himself and the duke of York, there appeared the
The busi- lord treasurer, the general, the earl of Sandwich,
fenreTto a ^e vice-chamberlain sir George Carteret, who had
committee, been a great commander at sea, and the two secre-
taries of state. When the king entered the room
with the lord treasurer, he desired his majesty, smil-
ing, " that he would take the chancellor's staff
" from him, otherwise he would break his head."
When they were all sat, the king told him, " they
" were all come to debate an affair that he knew
" he was against, which was the parting with Dun-
" kirk ; but he did believe, when he had heard all
" that was said for it and against it, he would
" change his mind, as he himself had done." And
so the debate was entered into in this method, after
enough was said of the straits the crown was in, and
what the yearly expense was.
Reasons 1. " That the profit which did or could accrue to
parting " the kingdom by the keeping of Dunkirk was very
" inconsiderable, whether in war or peace. That
" by sea it was very little useful, it being no harbour,
" nor having place for the king's ships to ride in
" with safety ; and that if it were in the hand of
" an enemy, it could do us little prejudice, because
" three or four ships might block it up, and keep it
" from infesting its neighbours : and that though
" heretofore it had been a place of license at sea, and
" had much obstructed trade by their men of war,
" yet that proceeded only from the unskilfulness of
" that time in applying proper remedies to it ; which
" was manifest by Cromwell's blocking them up,
" and restraining them when he made war upon
" them, insomuch as all the men of war left that
" place, and betook themselves to other harbours.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 245
" That it was so weak to the land (notwithstanding 1663.
" the great charge his majesty had been at in the"
" fortifications, which were not yet finished) by the
" situation and the soil, that it required as many
" men within to defend it, as the army should con-
" sist of that besieged it ; otherwise that it could
" aever hold out and endure a siege of two months :
" as it appeared clearly by its having been taken
" and retaken so many times within the late years,
" in all which times it never held out so long, though
" there was always an army at no great distance to
" relieve it.
2. " That the charge of keeping and maintaining
" it, without any accidents from the attempt of an
" enemy, did amount unto above one hundred and
" twenty thousand pounds by the year, which was
" a sum the revenue of the crown could not supply,
" without leaving many other particulars of much
" more importance unprovided for." And this was
not lightly or cursorily urged ; but the state of the
revenue, and the constant and indispensable issues,
were at the same time presented and carefully
examined.
3. " It could not reasonably be believed, but that
" if Dunkirk was kept, his majesty would be shortly
" involved in a war with one of the two crowns.
" The Spanish ambassador had already demanded
" restitution of it in point of justice, it having been
" taken from his master by the late usurper, in a
" time when there was not only a peace between
" his majesty and the king of Spain, but when his
" majesty resided, and was entertained by the ca-
" tholic king, in Flanders : and at this time both
" France and Spain inhibited their subjects from
R 3
246 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. "paying those small contributions to the garrison
~" at Dunkirk, and endeavoured to restrain the go-
" vernor himself from enjoying some privileges,
" which had been always enjoyed by him from the
" time that it had been put into Cromwell's hands."
And it was upon this and many other reasons then
conceived, " that as it would be very hard for the
" king to preserve a neutrality towards both crowns,
" even during the time of the war between them,"
(which temper was thought very necessary for his
majesty's affairs ;) " so it would be much more diffi-
" cult long to avoid a war with one of them upon
" the keeping Dunkirk, if the peace that was newly
" made should remain firm and unshaken."
Upon these reasons, urged and agreed upon by
those who could not but be thought very competent
judges, in respect of their several professions and
The king great experience, the king resolved to ease himself
resolves to _ - . ' 111 i /> • •• TX i • i
dispose of of the insupportable burden of maintaining Dunkirk,
and to part with it in such a manner as might be
most for his advantage and benefit. There remained
then no other question, than into what hand to put
it : and the measure of that was only who would
give most money for it, there being no inclination
to prefer one before another. It was enough under-
stood, that both crowns would be very glad to have
it, and would probably both make large offers for it.
Reasons for But it was then as evident, that whatsoever France
selling it to
France. should contract for, the king would be sure to re-
ceive, and the business would be soon despatched :
whereas on the other hand it was as notorious and
evident to his majesty, and to all who had any
knowledge of the court of Spain, and of the scarcity
of money there and in Flanders ; that how large of-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 24-7
fers soever the Spaniard might make, they could J663.
not be able in any time to pay any considerable sum
of money ; and that there would be so much time
spent in consult between Madrid and Brussels before
it could be despatched, that the keeping it so long
in his majesty's hands would in the expense disap-
point him of a good part of the end in parting
with it. Besides that it seemed at that time pro-
bable, that the Spaniard would shortly declare him-
self an enemy ; for besides that he demanded Dun-
kirk as of right, so he likewise required the resti- ~
tution of Tangier and Jamaica upon the same reason,
and declared, " that without it there could be no
" lasting peace between England and Spain," and
refused so much as to enter upon a treaty of alliance
with the king, before he should promise to make
such a restitution.
There wanted not in this conference and debate
the consideration of the States of the United Pro-
vinces, as persons like enough to desire the posses-
sion of Dunkirk, from whence they had formerly re-
ceived so much damage, and were like enough to
receive more whenever they should be engaged in
any war : and if in truth they should have any such
desire, more money might be reasonably required,
and probably be obtained from them, than could be
expected from either of the kings. But upon the
discussion of that point, it did appear to every man's
reason very manifest, that though they had rather
that Dunkirk should be put into the hands of the
Spaniard than delivered to France, or than it should
be detained by the English ; yet they durst not re-
ceive it into their own possession, which neither of
the two crowns would have approved of, and so it
R 4
248 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. would have exposed them to the displeasure, if not
~ to the hostility, of both the kings.
Upon this full deliberation, his majesty inclined
rather to give it up to France than to Spain ; but
deferred any positive resolution till he had imparted
The king the whole matter to the council-board, where the
refers it to . . „ • • .
the privy- debate was again resumed, principally, " whether it
" were more counsellable to keep it at so vast a
" charge, or to part with it for a good sum of money."
And in that debate the mention of what had been
heretofore done in the house of commons upon that
subject was not omitted, nor the bill that they had
sent up to the house of peers for annexing it inse-
parably to the -crown : but that was not thought of
moment ; for as it had been suddenly entertained in
the house of commons, upon the Spanish ambas-
sador's first proposition for the restitution, so it was
looked upon in the house of peers as unfit in it-
self, and so laid aside after once being read, (which
had been in the first convention soon after the king's
return,) and so expired as soon as it was born. After
a long debate of the whole matter at the council-
board, where all was averred concerning the useless-
ness and weakness of the place, by those who had
where only said it at the committee ; there was but one lord
of the council who offered his advice to the king
against parting with it : and the ground of that
lord's dissenting, who was the earl of St. Alban's,
was enough understood to have nothing of public in
it, but to draw the negotiation for it into his own
hands. In conclusion, his majesty resolved to put
it into the hands of France, if that king would
comply with his majesty's expectation in the pay-
ment of so much money as he would require for it :
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 249
and a way was found out, that the king might pri- 1663.
vately be advertised of that his majesty's resolution,"
if he should have any desire to deal for it.
The advertisement was very welcome to the
French king, who was then resolved to visit Flan-
ders as soon as he should know of the death of the
king of Spain, which was expected every day. Nor
had he deferred it till then, upon the late affront
his ambassador had received at London from the
Spanish ambassador, (who by a contrived and la-
boured stratagem had got the precedence for his
coach before the other ; which the king of France
received with that indignation, that he sent pre-
sently to demand justice at Madrid, commanded his
ambassador to retire from thence, and would not
suffer the Spanish ambassador to remain in Paris
till he should have satisfaction, and was resolved to
have begun a war upon it,) if the king of Spain had
not acknowledged the fault of his ambassador, and
under his hand declared the precedence to belong to
France ; which declaration was sent to the courts of
all princes : and so for the present that spark of fire
was extinguished, or rather raked up.
The king sent M. D'Estrades privately to London Monsieur
. . D'Estrades
to treat about Dunkirk, without any character, but comes over
pretending to make it his way to Holland, whither
he was designed ambassador. After he had waited pnce>
upon the king, his majesty appointed four or five of
the lords of his council, whereof the chancellor and
treasurer and general were three, to treat with
M. D'Estrades for the sale of Dunkirk ; when the
first conference was spent in endeavouring to per-
suade him to make the first offer for the price, which
he could not be drawn to : so that the king's com-
250 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. missioners were obliged to make their demand.
~~And they asked the sum of seven hundred thousand
pounds sterling, to be paid upon the delivery of
Dunkirk and Mardike into the possession of the
king of France ; which sum appeared to him to be
so stupendous, that he seemed to think the treaty at
an end, and resolved to make no offer at all on the
part of his master. And so the conference brake
up.
At the next meeting he offered three millions of
livres, which according to the common account
amounted to three hundred thousand pistoles, which
the king's commissioners as much undervalued ; so
that any further conference was discontinued, till he
had sent an express or two into France, and till
their return : for as the expectation of a great sum
of ready money was the king's motive to part with
it, besides the saving the monthly charge ; so they
concluded that his necessities would oblige him to
part with it at a moderate price. And after the re-
turn of the expresses, the king's commissioners in-
sisting still upon what D'Estrades thought too much,
and he offering what they thought too little, the
treaty seemed to be at an end, and he prepared for
his return. In conclusion, his majesty being fully
as desirous to part with it as the king of France
could be to have it, it was agreed and concluded,
The price " that upon the payment of five hundred thousand
upon? " pistoles in specie at Calais to such persons as the
" king should appoint to receive it, his majesty's
" garrison of Dunkirk and Mardike should be with-
" drawn, and those places put into the hands of the
" king of France:" all which was executed accord-
ingly. And without doubt it was a greater sum of
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 251
money than was ever paid at one payment by any 1663.
prince in Christendom, upon what occasion soever ; ""
and every body seemed very glad to see so vast a sum
of money delivered into the Tower of London, as it
was all together ; the king at the same time declar-
ing, " that no part of it should be applied to any or-
" dinary occasion, but be preserved for some press-
" ing accident, as an insurrection or the like," which
was reasonably enough apprehended.
Nor was there e the least murmur at this bargain A vi
tion of the
in all the sessions of the parliament which sat after, chancellor
.-._,, in this af-
until it fell out to some men s purposes to reproach fair.
the chancellor : and then they charged him " with
" advising the sale of Dunkirk, and that the very
" artillery, ammunition, and stores amounted to
" a greater value than the king received for the
" whole ;" when upon an estimate that had been
taken f of all those, they were not esteemed to be
more worth than twenty thousand pounds sterling ;
and the consideration of those, when the king's
commissioners insisted upon their being all shipped
for England, and the necessity of keeping them
upon the place where they were, had prevailed with
M. D'Estrades to consent to that sum of five hun-
dred thousand pistoles. But whether the bargain
was ill or well made, there could be no fault imputed
to the chancellor, who had no more to do in the
transaction than is before set down, the whole mat-
ter having been so long deliberated and so fully de-
bated. Nor did he ever before, or in, or after the
transaction, receive the value of half a crown for re-
ward or present, or any other consideration relating
e there] Omitted in MS. f taken] Omitted in MS.
252 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. to that affair: and the treatment he received after
"his coming into France was evidence enough, that
that king never thought himself beholden to him.
The queen A little before this time, the queen mother re-
brings a na- turned again for England, having disbursed a great
10 sum °f money in making a noble addition to her
S" palace of Somerset-house. With the queen there
came over a youth of about ten or a dozen years of
age, who was called by the name of Mr. Crofts, be-
cause the lord Crofts had been trusted to take care
of his breeding ; but he was generally thought to be
the king's son, begotten upon a private Welch wo-
man of no good fame, but handsome, who had trans-
ported herself to the Hague, when the king was
first there, with a design to obtain that honour,
which a groom of the bedchamber willingly pre-
ferred her to ; and there it was this boy was born.
The mother lived afterwards for some years in France
in the king's sight, and at last lost his majesty's fa-
vour: yet the king desired to have the son deli-
vered to him, that he might take care of his educa-
tion, which she would not consent to. At last the
lord Crofts got him into his charge ; and the mo-
ther dying at Paris, he had the sole tuition of him,
and took care for the breeding him suitable to the
quality of a very good gentleman. And the queen
after some years came to know of it, and frequently
had him brought to her, and used him with much
grace ; and upon the king's desire brought him with
her from Paris into England, when he was about
twelve years of age, very handsome, and performed,
those exercises gracefully which youths of that age
used to learn in France. The king received him
with extraordinary fondness, and was willing that
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 253
every body should believe him to be his son, though 1663.
he did not yet make any declaration that he looked""
upon him as such, otherwise than by his kindness
and familiarity towards him. He assigned a liberal
maintenance for him ; but took not that care for a
strict breeding of him % as his age required.
The general, during the time of his command in
Scotland, had acquaintance with a lady of much ho-
nour there, the countess of Weemes, who had been
before the wife of the earl of Buccleugh, and by him
had one only daughter, who inherited his very great
estate and title, and was called the countess of Buc-
cleugh, a child of eight or ten years of age. All
men believed, that the general's purpose was to get
this lady for his own son, a match h suitable enough:
but the time being now changed, the lord Lauther-
dale, being a good courtier, thought his country-
woman might be much better married, if she were
given to the king for this youth, towards whom he
expressed so much fondness, those kinds of extrac-
tions carrying little disadvantage with them in Scot-
land ; and the general, whatever thoughts he had
before, would not be so ill a courtier as not to ad-
vance such a proposition. The lady was already in
possession of the greatest fortune in Scotland, which
would have a fair addition upon the death of her
mother. i>:< f
The king liked the motion well ; and so the mo-
ther was sent to, to bring up her daughter to Lon-
don, they being then both in Scotland. And when
they came, the king trusted the earl of Lautherdale
principally to treat that affair with the mother, who
e him] it h match] Not in MS.
254 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. had rather have been referred to any other body,
"~ having indeed some just exceptions. They were
traded to both yet under the years of consent ; but that time
ess of BUC- drawing on, such a contract was drawn up as had
leugh* been first proposed to the king, which was, " that
" the whole estate, for want of issue by the young
" lady, or by her death, should be devolved upon
" the young man who was to marry her, and his
" heirs for ever ; and that this should be settled by
" act of parliament in Scotland." Matters being
drawn to this length, and writings being to be pre-
pared, it was now necessary that this young gentle-
man must have a name, and the Scots advocate had
prepared a draught, in which he was styled the
king's natural son : and the king was every day
pressed by the great lady, and those young men who
knew the customs of France, to create him a noble-
man of England ; and was indeed very willing to be
advised to that purpose.
The king Till this time, this whole matter was treated in
consults the 11-
chancellor secret amongst the ocots : but now the king thought
son™ 5 fit to consult it with others ; and telling the chan-
cellor of all that had passed, shewed him the draught
prepared by the Scots advocate, and asked him
" what he thought of it," and likewise implied,
" that he thought fit to give him some title of ho-
" nour." After he had read it over, he told his ma-
The chan- jesty, " that he need not give him any other title of
vice. " honour than he would enjoy by his marriage, by
" which he would by the law of Scotland be called
" earl of Buccleugh, which would be title enough ;
" and he desired his majesty to pardon him, if he
" found fault with and disliked the title they had
" given him who prepared that draught, wherein
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 255
" they had presumed to style him the king's natural 1663.
" son, which was never, at least in many ages, used
" in England, and would have an ill sound in Eng-
" land with all his people, who thought that those
" unlawful acts ought to be concealed, and not pub-
" lished and justified. That France indeed had,
" with inconvenience enough to the crown, raised
" some families of those births ; but it was always
" from women of great quality, and who had never
" been tainted with any other familiarity. And
" that there was another circumstance required in
" Spain, which his majesty should do well to ob-
" serve in this case, if he had taken a resolution in
" the main ; which was, that the king took care for
" the good education of that child whom he believed
" to be his, but never publicly owned or declared
" him to be such, till he had given some notable evi-
" dence of his inheriting or having acquired such
" virtues and qualities, as made him in the eyes of
" all men worthy of such a descent. That this gen-
" tleman was yet young, and not yet to be judged
" of: and therefore if he were for the present mar-
" ried to this young lady, and assumed her title, as
" he must do, his majesty might defer for some
" years making any such declaration ; which he
" might do when he would, and which at present
" would be as unpopular an action in the hearts of
" his subjects as he could commit."
Though the king did not seem to concur in all
that was said, he did not appear at all offended, and
only asked him, " whether he had not conferred
" with the queen his mother upon that subject."
When he assured him, " he had not, nor with any
" other person, and though helwd heard some gene-
256 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. " ral discourse of his majesty's purpose to make that
" marriage, he had never heard either of the other
" particulars mentioned ;" the king said, " he had
*' reason to ask the question, because many of those
" things, which he had said had been spoken to him
" by the queen his mother, who was entirely of his
" opinion, which she used not to be ;" and con-
cluded, " that he would confer with them together,"
seeming for the present to be more moved and
doubtful in the matter of the declaration, than in
the other, of the creation; and said, " there was
" no reason, since she brought all the estate, that
" she should receive no addition by her husband."
The queen afterwards took an occasion to speak at
large to the chancellor of it with much warmth, and
The king manifestation that she did not like it. But the king
owns his spake with neither of them afterwards upon it, but
creates" him signed the declaration, and created him to be duke
°f Monmouth ; very few persons dissuading it, and
the lady employing all her credit to bring it to pass:
and the earl of Bristol (who in those difficult cases
was usually consulted) pressed it as the only way to
make the king's friendship valuable.
Since the earl of Bristol is mentioned upon this
occasion, it will not be unseasonable to give him the
next part in this relation. Though he had left no
way unattempted to render himself gracious to the
king, by saying and doing all that might be accept-
able unto him, and contriving such meetings and
jollities as he was pleased with ; and though his ma-
jesty had been several ways very bountiful to him,
and had particularly given him at one time ten
thousand pounds in money, with which he had pur-
chased Wimbleton of the queen, and had given him
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 257
Ashdown-forest and other lands in Sussex: yet he 1663.
found he had not that degree of favour and interest ~~
in the king's affections, as he desired, or desired
that other people should think he had. The change
of his religion kept him from being admitted to the
council, or to any employment of moment. And
whereas he made no doubt of drawing the whole
dependance of the Roman catholics upon himself,
and to have the disposal of that interest, and to that
purpose had the Jesuits firm to him ; he found that he
had no kind of credit with them, nor was admitted
by them to their most secret consultations, and that
the fathers of the society had more enemies than
friends amongst the catholics.
His estate had been sold and settled by his own
consent, upon the marriage of his eldest son twice
to great fortunes : so that when he returned from
beyond the seas, he could not return to his estate as
others did, and had little more to subsist upon than
the king's bounty ; and that was not poured out
upon him in the measure he wished, though few per-
sons tasted more of it. He was in his nature very
covetous, and ready to embrace all ways that were
offered to get money, whether honourable or no, for
he had not a great power over himself, and could
not bear want, which he could hardly avoid, for he
was nothing provident in his expenses, when he had
any temptation from his ambition or vanity. Be-
sides, his appetite to play and gaming, in which he
had no skill, and by which he had all his life spent
whatever he could get, was not at all abated. He
spent as much money at Wimbleton in building and
gardening, as the land was worth.
By all these means he found himself in straits,
VOL. II. S
258 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. which he could neither endure nor get from, and
""which transported him to that degree, that he re-
solved to treat the king in another manner than
he had ever yet presumed to do. And having asked
somewhat of him that his majesty did not think fit
The eari of to grant, he told him, " he knew well the cause of
travagant*" " his withdrawing his favour from him ; that it pro-
to the'kiDg. " ceeded only from the chancellor, who governed
" him and managed all his affairs, whilst himself
" spent his time only in pleasures and debauchery :"
and in this passion upbraided him with many ex-
cesses, to which no man had contributed more than
he had done. He said many truths which ought to
have been more modestly and decently mentioned,
and all this in the presence of the lord Aubigny,
who was as much surprised as the king ; and con-
cluded, " that if he did not give him satisfaction '
" within such a time," (the time allowed did not ex-
ceed four and twenty hours,) " he would do some-
" what that would awaken him out of his slumber,
" and make him look better to his own business ;"
and added many threats against the chancellor.
The king stood all this time in such confusion, that
though he gave him more sharp words than were
natural to him, he had not that presentness of mind
(as he afterwards accused himself) as he ought to
have had ; and said, " he ought presently to have
" called for the guard," it being in his own closet,
" and sent him to the Tower."
The court and the town was full of the discourse
that the earl of Bristol would accuse the chancellor
of high treason, who knew nothing of what had
' give him satisfaction] Omitted in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 259
passed with the king. And it seems when the time 16C3.
was past that he prescribed to the king to give him ~~
satisfaction, he came one morning to the house of
peers with a paper in his hand ; and told the lords,
" that he could not but observe, that after so glori- He accuse*
3 . thechan-
" ous a return with which God had blessed the kingceiiorof
" and the nation, so that all the world had expected, !
" that the prosperity of the kingdom would have
" far exceeded the misery and adversity that it had
" for many years endured ; and after the parliament
" had contributed more towards it, than ever parlia-
" ment had done : notwithstanding all which, it was
" evident to all men, and lamented by those who
" wished well to his majesty, that his affairs grew
" every day worse and worse ; the king himself lost
" much of his honour, and the affection he had in
" the hearts of the people. That for his part he
?' looked upon it with as much sadness as any man,
" and had made inquiry as well as he could from
" whence this great misfortune, which every body
*' was sensible of, could proceed ; and that he was
" satisfied in his own conscience, that it proceeded
" principally from, the power and credit and sole
" credit of the chancellor : and therefore he was re-
" solved, for the good of his country, to accuse the
" lord chancellor of high treason ; which he had
" done in the paper which he desired might be read,
" all written with his own hand, to which he sub-
" scribed his name."
The paper contained many articles, which he
called Articles of High Treason and other Misde-
meanors ; amongst which one was, " that he had
" persuaded the king to send a gentleman (a crea-
" ture of his own) to Rome with letters to the pope,
s 2
260 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. " to give a cardinal's cap to the lord Aubigny, who
~~" was almoner to the queen." The rest contained
" his assuming to himself the government of all
" public affairs, which he had administered unskil-
" fully, corruptly, and traitorously ; which he was
" ready to prove."
The chancellor, without any trouble in his coun-
tenance, told the lords, " that he had had the ho-
" nour heretofore to have so much the good opinion
" and friendship of that lord, that he durst appeal
" to his own conscience, that he did not himself be-
" lieve one of those articles to be true, and knew
" the contrary of most of them. And he was glad
" to find that he thought it so high a crime to send
" to Rome, and to desire a cardinal's cap for a ca-
" tholic lord, who had been always bred from his
" cradle in that faith : but he did assure them, that
" that gentleman was only sent by the queen to
" the pope, upon an affair that she thought herself
** obliged to comply with him in, and in hope to do
" some good office to Portugal ; and that the king
" had neither writ to the pope, nor to any other
" person in Rome." He spake at large to most of
the articles, to shew the impossibility of their being
true, and that they reflected more upon the king's
honour than upon his ; and concluded, " that he
" was sorry that lord had not been better advised,
" for he did believe that though all that was alleged
" in the articles should be true, they would not all
" amount to high treason, upon which he desired
" the judges might be required to deliver their
" opinion ; the which the lords ordered the judges
" to do." It was moved by one of the lords, " that
" the copy of the articles might be sent to the king,
EDWARD £ARL OF CLARENDON. 261
" because he was mentioned so presumptuously in 1663.
" them ;" which was likewise agreed; and the arti-~
cles were delivered to the lord chamberlain to pre-
sent to the king.
The chancellor had promised that day to dine in
Whitehall, but would not presume to go thither till
he had sent to the king, not thinking it fit to go
into his court, whilst he lay under an accusation of
high treason, without his leave. His majesty sent
him word, " that he should dine where he had ap-
" pointed, and as soon as he had dined that he
" should attend him." Then his majesty told him
and the lord treasurer all that had passed between
the earl of Bristol and him in the presence of the
lord Aubigny; and in the relation of it expressed
great indignation, and was angry with himself,
" that he had not immediately sent him to the
" Tower, which," he said, " he would do as soon as
" he could apprehend him." He used the chancel-
lor with much grace, and told him, "that the earl of
" Bristol had not treated him so ill as he had done
" his majesty ; and that his articles were more to
" his dishonour, and reflected more upon him, for
" which he would have justice."
His majesty commanded the lord chamberlain to
return his thanks to the house, " for the respect
" they had shewed to him in sending those articles
" to him ;" and to let them know, " that he looked
" upon them as a libel against himself more than a
" charge against the chancellor, who upon his know-
" ledge was innocent in all the particulars charged
" upon him ;" which report the lord chamberlain
made the next morning to the house ; and at the
same time the judges declared their opinion unani-
s 3
262 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 663. mously, " that the whole charge contained nothing
~ " of treason though it were all true." Upon which
the earl of Bristol, especially upon what the lord
chamberlain had reported from the king, appeared
in great confusion, and lamented his condition,
" that he, for endeavouring to serve his country
" upon the impulsion of his conscience, was discoun-
" tenanced, and threatened with the anger and dis-
" pleasure of his prince ; whilst his adversary kept
" his place in the house, and had the judges so much
" at his devotion that they would not certify against
" him." The chancellor moved the house, " that a
" short day might be given to the earl, to bring in
" his evidence to prove the several matters of his
" charge ; otherwise that he might have such repa-
" ration, as was in their judgments proportionable
" to the indignity." The earl said, " he should
" not fail to produce witnessess to prove all he had
" alleged, and more : but that he could not appoint
" a time when he could be ready for a hearing,
" because many of his most important witnesses
" were beyond the seas, some at Paris, and others
" in other places ; and that he must examine the
" duke of Ormond, who was lieutenant in Ireland,
" and the earl of Lautherdale, who was then in
" Scotland, and must desire commissioners h to that
" purpose."
The eari of But from that day he made no further instance :
mmbupon an^ understanding that the king had given warrants
warrantee *° a sergeailt a^ arms to apprehend him, he con-
apprehend cealed himself in several places for the space of near
him.
two years ; sending sometimes letters and petitions
k commissioners] commissions
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 263
by his wife to the king, who would not receive them. 1 663.
But in the end his majesty was prevailed with by~
the lady and sir Harry Bennet to see him in pri-
vate ; but would not admit him to come to the
court, nor repeal his warrants for his apprehension :
so that he appeared not publicly till the chancellor's
misfortune ; and then he came to the court and to
the parliament in great triumph, and shewed a more
impotent malice than was expected from his gene-
rosity and understanding.
We shall in the next place take a view of Scot- The affairs
land, whither we left Middleton sent the king's com-
missioner, who performed his part with wonderful
dexterity and conduct, and with more success than
some of his countrymen were pleased with. We
have remembered before the debate upon his in-
structions, and the earnest advice and caution given
by Lautherdale against any hasty attempt to make
alteration in the matters of the church, which was
at last left to the discretion of the commissioner, to
proceed in such a manner, and at such a time, as he
found most convenient. As soon as he came thi-Thecom-
ther, he found himself received with as universal an
exclamation, and the king's authority as cheerfully ed'
submitted to, as can be imagined or could be wish-
ed ; and such a consent to every thing he proposed,
that he made no question but any thing his majesty
required would find an entire obedience. The earl
of Glencarne, who was chancellor, and the earl of
Rothes, and all the nobility of any interest or credit,
were not only faithful to the king, but fast friends
to Middleton, and magnified his conduct in all their
letters.
The earl of Crawford alone, who was treasurer,
s 4
264 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. which is an office that cannot be unattended by a
~ great faction in that kingdom, retained still his ri-
gid affection for the presbytery, when the ministers
themselves grew much less rigid, and were even
ashamed of the many follies and madnesses they had
committed. But the earl of Crawford did all he
could to raise their spirits, and to keep them firm to
the kirk. In all other particulars he was full of de-
votion to the king, being entirely of the faction of
Hamilton, and nearly allied to it; and when the
king was in Scotland had served him signally, and
had then been made by him high treasurer of that
kingdom ; and upon Cromwell's prevailing and con-
junction with Argyle, was as odious as any man to
them both, and had for many years been prisoner in
England till the time of the king's return. There
was always a great friendship between him and
Lautherdale ; the former being a man of much the
greater interest, and of unquestionable courage ;
the other excelling him in all the faculties which
are necessary to business, and being1 a master in
dissimulation.
Middleton, and the lords who went with him,
and the general, (upon whose advice the king de-
pended as much in the business of Scotland,) were
all earnest with his majesty to remove the earl of
Crawford from that great office, which would enable
him to do mischief. But the king's good-nature
prevailed. over him, though he knew him as well as
they did : and he thought it too hardhearted a thing
to remove a man, whom he found a prisoner for his
service, from an office he had formerly conferred
1 being] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 265
upon him for his merit, and which he had not for- 1663.
feited by any miscarriage. And it may be it was~
some argument to him of his sincerity, that when
others, who to his majesty's own knowledge were as
rigid presbyterians as he, were now very frank in
renouncing and disclaiming all obligations from it,
he, of all the nobility, was the only man who still
adhered to it, when it was evident to him that he
should upon the matter be undone by it. However,
the king sent him down with the rest into Scot-
land, being confident that he would do nothing to
disserve him, as in truth he never did; and re-
solved m that, when the business of the church came
to be agitated, if he did continue still refractory, he
would take the staff from him, and confer n it upon
Middleton : who, though all things were very fair
between him and Lautherdale, to whom all his de-
spatches must be addressed, yet depended more upon
those of the English council, to whom the king had
required the secretary to communicate all that he
received from the commissioner, and all the de-
spatches which he should make to him. And by this
means no orders were sent from the king which re-
strained him from proceeding in the matter of the
church according to discretion, as he was appointed
by his instructions ; though Lautherdale did not dis-
semble, when letters came from Scotland "of the
" good posture the king's affairs were in there, and
" that any thing might be brought to pass that he
" desired," to receive other letters to which he gave
more credit ; and was still as solicitous that no-
m resolved] Not in MS. " confer] resolved to confer
266 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. thing might be attempted with reference to the
~ kirk.
Proceedings As soon as the parliament was convened at Edin-
scotch par- burgh, and the commissioner found the temper of
iiament. them to be such as he could wish, the marquis of
Argyle (who had been sent by sea from the Tower
The mar- of London to Leith) was brought to his trial upon
gyie tried, many, articles of treason and murder ; wherein all
and execut- his confederacies with Cromwell were laid open,
and much insisted upon to prove his being privy
to the resolution of taking the king's life, and ad-
vising it : and though there was great reason to sus-
pect it, and most men believed it, the proofs were
not clear enough to convict him. But then the evi-
dence was so full and clear of so many horrid mur-
ders committed by his order upon persons in his dis-
pleasure, and his immediate possessing himself of
their estates, and other monstrous and unheard of
acts of oppression ; that the parliament condemned
him to be hanged upon a gallows of an unusual
height, and in or near the place where he had
caused the marquis of Mountrose to be formerly ex-
ecuted : all which was performed the same day
with the universal joy of the people ; the unfortu-
nate person himself shewing more resolution and
courage than was expected from him, and expressing
much affection and zeal for the covenant, for which
he desired all men should believe he was put to
Giiaspy, a death. There was likewise one seditious preacher,
ecuted? CX Giiaspy, who had been a notorious and malicious re-
bel against the last and the present king, underwent
the same trial and judgment, with the same faith
in the covenant, and without show of repentance.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 267
And it was much wondered at, that no more of 1663.
that tribe, which had kindled the fire that had al-
most burned two kingdoms, and never had endea-
voured to extinguish it, were ever brought to jus-
tice ; and that the lives of two men should be
thought a sufficient sacrifice for that kingdom to
offer for all the mischief it had done.
When this work was done, the parliament without
hesitation repealed all those acts prejudicial to the
crown and the royal dignity, which had been made
since the beginning of the rebellion, and upon which
all the rebellions had been founded ; and branded
their beloved covenant with all the reproaches it de-
served, and this even with the consent and approba-
tion of the general assembly of the kirk. By all
which the obstructions were removed ; and it was
now in the power of the king to make bishops as
heretofore, and to settle the church in the same go-
vernment to which it had formerly been subject.
But the commissioner thought not this enough; and
apprehended that the king might yet be persuaded,
though there was no such appearance, " that the
" people were against it, and that it would be better
"to defer it:" and therefore the parliament pre- Tie pariia-
pared a petition to the king, highly aggravating the ™on the '
wickedness of the former time in destroying episco-
pacy, without which they could not have brought SCO
their wicked devices to pass; and therefore they
were humble suitors to his majesty, " that he would
" make choice of such grave divines, as he thought
" fit to be consecrated bishops, for all the vacant
" sees," they being at that time all vacant, there
being not one bishop of the nation alive.
And the commissioner having declared that he
268 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. meant to prorogue the parliament, they appointed a
Theypre_ draught of an oath or subscription to be prepared
Crationof a£ams* *ne nex* session, whereby every man, who
the cove- was possessed of a church or any other ecclesiastical
promotion in that kingdom, should be bound to re-
nounce the covenant upon the penalty of being de-
prived ; intimating likewise, that they resolved, at
the next meeting, " that no man should be capable
" of holding any office, or of being a privy counsel-
" lor, who would not formally subscribe the same."
And settle They settled a standing militia of forty thousand
fore*0 1D§ men, to be always ready to march upon the king's
orders ; and raised two good troops of horse, and
provided for the payment of them ; and granted
such a sum of money to the king, as could be rea-
sonably expected from so poor and harassed a coun-
try, and which would serve the defraying the neces-
Thecom- sary expenses thereof. And all this being done,
missioner . .
returns to and the prorogation made, the commissioner and
some of the other lords came to London to kiss the
king's hand, and to receive his further directions,
having so fully despatched all his former orders.
They brought likewise with them some other propo-
sitions, which will be mentioned anon.
The king received the commissioner with open
arms, and was very well pleased with all that he
had done ; and nobody seemed to magnify it more
than Lautherdale, who was least satisfied with it.
Nor could he now longer oppose the making of bi-
shops there : so having presented the names of such
persons to the king who were thought fit to be con-
secrated bishops, whereof some had been with his
majesty abroad, they were all sent for to London ;
and such of them who had not before received their
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 269
ordination from a bishop, but from the presbytery 1663.
in Scotland, whereof the archbishop of St. Andrew's Scotch bi_
was one, first received orders of deacon and priest sh°Ps C?IU
secrated.
from the bishop of London, and were afterwards
consecrated in the usual form by the bishops who
were then near the town, and made so great a feast
as if it had been at the charge of their country.
The commissioner, the chancellor, the earl of
Rothes and others, with the lord Lautherdale, were
deputed by the parliament to be humble suitors to
the king ; " since they had performed on their part
" all that was of the duty of good subjects, and were
" ready to give any other testimony of their obedi-
" ence that his majesty would require ; and since
" the whole kingdom was entirely at his devotion,
" and in such a posture that they were able as
" well as willing to preserve the peace thereof, and
" to suppress any seditious party that should at-
" tempt any disturbance; that his majesty would Jehs^ct^tch
" now remove the English garrisons from thence, English
" and permit the fortifications and works, which had ma"be
" been erected at a vast charge, to be demolished, Wl
" that there might remain no monuments of the
" slavery they had undergone." And this they
demanded as in justice due to them, " since there
" were few men now alive, none in the least power,
" who had contributed to the ills which had been
" committed ; and all the men of power had under-
" gone for ten or a dozen years as great oppression
" as could be put upon them, because they would
" not renounce their fidelity to the king : and since
" it had pleased God to restore his majesty, they
" hoped he would not ° continue those yokes and
0 not] Omitted in MS.
270 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 663. " shackles upon them, which had been prepared and
~ " put upon them to keep them from returning to
" their allegiance."
This was proposed in the presence of those of the
English council, who had been formally admitted
to be of the council of Scotland, and continued to
meet upon that affair. The Scots lords enlarged
with much warmth " upon the intolerable oppres-
" sion that nation had undergone, on the poverty
" they still suffered, and the impossibility of being
" able to bear any part of the charge, and the jea-
" lousy that it would keep up between the nations,
" which could not be to the king's profit and conve-
" nience." They had privately spoken before with
the king upon it, and had prevailed with him to
think what they desired had reason and justice in
it; and the English lords could not upon the sud-
den, and without conference together, resolve what
was fit for them to say : so that they desired, without
expressing any inclination in the matter, " that the
" debate might be put off to another day ;" which
the Scots took very ill, as if the very deferring it
were an argument that they thought it might be
denied. But when they saw they would not pre-
sently speak to it, they were content that another
day should be appointed for the consideration of it :
and they afterwards desired the king, " that he
" would call the committee of the English council,
" who used to attend him in the most secret affairs,
" to consult what was to be done." Nobody could
deny but that the Scots had reason to demand it.
And they who thought it a bridle fit to keep in their
mouths, to restrain them from future rebellions
which they might be inclined to, could not easily
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 271
resolve what answer should be given to them in the 1663.
negative. And they who thought the demand to~~
be so just and reasonable, and so much for the king's
benefit and advantage, that it ought to be granted,
did believe likewise that it was a thing so capable of
censure and reproach, in regard of the general pre-
judice which the English have against that people,
that no particular person was able to bear the odium
of the advice ; nor that the king himself should take
the resolution upon himself without very mature
deliberation.
That which advanced the proposition as fit to be Some cir-
cumstances
granted, was the charge of maintaining those forces; that faciiu
which that kingdom was so incapable of bearing, request!"1
that Middleton and Glencarne (whose duties and
entire devotion to the king were above all exception
or suspicion) declared not only to the king, but to
those of the lords with whom they would confer
freely, " that if the king thought it necessary to
" keep that people still there, he must send more
" forces of horse and foot thither ; otherwise they
" were not strong enough to subdue the whole king-
" dom, but would as soon as they stirred out of their
" garrisons be knocked in the head ; nor would the
" country pay any thing towards their support, but
" what should be extorted by force : so that his
" majesty would not be thought to possess that
" kingdom in peace, which otherwise he would
" unquestionably do."
And this consideration was improved by the re-
flection upon the body of men of which those forces
consisted, which was a parcel of the worst affected
men to the king of the whole army, and which the
general had therefore left in Scotland, when he
272 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1(563. marched into England under the command of major
""general Morgan, (who was worthy of any trust,)
because he was not sure enough of their fidelity to
take them with him, yet thought them P fit enough
to be left to restrain the Scots from any sudden in-
surrection. But now they saw all their model
brought to confusion, they were not so much above
temptation, but that they might, especially if they
were drawn together, concur in any desperate design
with a discontented party in Scotland, or with their
brethren of the disbanded army of England, who at
that season had rebellious resolutions in the north.
And which 1 was of no small importance, there was
at this very time an opportunity to transport all
those forces (the very disbanding whereof would not
be without danger for the reasons aforesaid) to Por-
tugal, in compliance with the king's obligation upon
his marriage.
On the contrary, it was very notorious that the
people generally throughout England, of what qua-
lity soever, a few London presbyterians excepted,
were marvellously pleased to see the Scots so ad-
mirably chastised and yoked; nor had Cromwell
ever done an act that more reconciled the affections
of the English to him, than his most rigorous treat-
ment of that nation ; and they never contributed
money so willingly towards any of his designs, as
for the erecting those forts in the several quarters
of the kingdom ; which, with a little addition of
force, they had good experience would suffice to
keep it from giving any disturbance to their neigh-
bours. And the demolishing all those structures in
P thought them] Not in MS. •' which] that which
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 273
one instant, and leaving an unquiet and an impo- 1663.
verished people to their own inclinations, could not ~
be grateful.
The king had, during the time that he resided
in Scotland before his march to Worcester, con-
tracted, and had brought with him from thence, a
perfect detestation of their kirk and presbyterian
government, and a great prejudice against the whole
family of Argyle and some other persons. But he
was exceedingly reconciled to the nation ; and be-
sides the esteem he had of the persons of very many
noblemen, he did really believe the burgesses and
common people to be as heartily affected to him, and
as much at his disposal, as any subjects he had. And
the lord Lautherdale cultivated this gracious cre-
dulity with so much diligence, that he assured the
king, " that he might depend upon the whole Scots
" nation as upon one man, to be employed r in
" his service and commands of what kind soever,
" and against what enemy soever." His majesty The ting
upon the debate of this business declared, " that he °
" did not only think it good husbandry in respect of
" the expense, and good policy, that he might keep
" Scotland entirely at his devotion, whilst Ireland
" remained in this confusion, and England itself was
" threatened by such factions in religion, to gratify
" them in what they desired ; but that he held him-
" self obliged in honour, justice, and conscience, to
" send all the forces out of that kingdom, and to de-
" face the monuments of that time : and that there
"would be no more to be consulted, but what to do
" with those forces," (which was quickly resolved,
r to be employed] to be employed as one man
VOL. II. T
274 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
16C3. that they should be all sent for Portugal ; and order
was presently given for ships upon which they were
to be embarked,) " and then to consider in what
" method the other should be done."
The Scots were very well satisfied 8 with the king's
resolution upon the main, but troubled at somewhat
that the English lords proposed for the way, " that
" the privy-council first, and then the parliament,
" should be informed of his majesty's intentions :
" which," they said, " would be against the honour
" and the interest and the right of Scotland, which
" never submitted any of their concernments to be
" debated at the council-board of England ; and the
" innovation would be no less in remitting it to the
" parliament, which had no pretence of jurisdiction
" over them." To both which they were answered,
" that the withdrawing the English forces, and de-
" molishing the English fortifications, concerned
" England no less than the other kingdom ; and
" that his majesty did not intend it should be pro-
" posed to them, as a thing of which he made any
" doubt or required their advice, but only as a mat-
" ter of fact, which would prevent all murmurings or
" censures, which otherwise might arise." The
English lords desired, " that the king's orders might
" be very positive, and that the commissioner might
" see them executed, for the utter demolishing all
" those fortifications which the English were to
" abandon, that they might not be continued for
" the entertainment of new garrisons of the natives,
" which would administer matter of new jealousies:"
all which they cheerfully consented to, well knowing
s satisfied] settled
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 275
that they might afterwards perform what they 1663.
found convenient; and many did since believe, that"*
there remains enough in some of the places to be
shelter to a rebellion hereafter.
The king appointed the chancellor to make a re-
lation, at a conference between the two houses of
parliament, " of the good posture his majesty's af-
" fairs of Scotland stood in ; of their having repeal-
" ed all those ill laws which had been made by the
" advantage of the rebellion, and all that concerned
" the church ; upon which that his majesty forth-
" with resolved to settle bishops in that kingdom,
" which appeared very unanimously devoted to his
" service : and that the king could not but commu-
" nicate this good news to them, which he knew
" would give them cause of rejoicing." And then
he told them, " that the Scots parliament, in regard
" of the peace and quiet that they enjoyed, without
" the least apprehension of trouble from abroad or
** at home, had desired the king, that the English
** forces might be withdrawn and all the fortifica-
** tions razed ; and that those forces might be con-
*' venient, if his majesty thought fit, to be trans-
** ported to Portugal;" without discovering whatTheEn?-
. ii-i i • . I'8'1 parlia-
nis majesty had resolved to do, or asking any opin-mentdo
ion from them, which however they might have "tot opposi
given if they pleased. The effect was, that botli
houses sent their humble thanks to the king " for
" his having vouchsafed to let them know the good
" condition of Scotland, of which they wished his
" majesty much joy ; and hoped his other dominions
" would in a short time be in the same tranquillity :"
without taking any notice of withdrawing the garri-
sons. And so that affair ended.
T 2
276 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. During this agitation in London, it was discern-
ible enough that there were great jealousies between
the Scots lords. The commissioner and the other
had cause to believe, that the king gave much more
credit to Lautherdale than to them, and looked
upon him as a man of great interest in that country,
when they knew he had none, being neither in his
quality or fortune amongst those who were esteemed
men of power and dependance. And he thought
them linked in a faction against him, to lessen the
value the king had of him, which indeed was the
foundation of all his credit and interest. What
countenance soever he set upon it, he was sensibly
afflicted at the downfall of the presbytery, and that
Middleton had brought that to pass without any
difficulty, (as he had before told the king he would,)
which he had assured his majesty was impossible to
be effected but in long time and by many stratagems.
The marquis of Argyle had been a man univer-
sally odious to the whole nation, some ministers and
preachers excepted : and there had been always
thought to have been an implacable animosity from
Lautherdale towards him ; and after the king's re-
turn no man had appeared more against him, nor
more insisted upon his not being admitted to his
majesty's presence, or for his being sent into Scot-
land to be tried. Yet after all this it was discover-
ed, that he had interposed all he could with his ma-
jesty to save him, and employed all his interest in
Scotland to the same purpose. And the marquis
was no sooner executed, but the earl of Lautherdale
had prevailed with the king immediately to give his
Lord Lome son, the lord Lorne, (who had remained in London
and created to solicit on his father's behalf,) leave to kiss his
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 277
hand, and to create him earl of Argyle, and to con- 1663.
fer on him the office of general justice in the High-ear] of Ar_
lands, by which his father had been qualified to
most of the wickednesses he had committed; all
which the parliament of Scotland should have
treated as * the most sensible affront to them that
they could undergo.
It was well known that this young man, who was
captain of the king's guard when he was in Scot-
land, had treated his majesty with that rudeness
and barbarity, that he was much more odious to
him than his father ; and in all the letters which
Lautherdale had found opportunity to write, whilst
he was a prisoner in England, to the king when he
was beyond the seas, he inveighed equally against
the son as the father, and never gave him any other
title than, "That Toad's Bird:" so that nobody
could imagine from whence this change could pro-
ceed, but from a design to preserve an interest in
the presbyterian party against the time he should
have occasion to use them.
Then there were circumstances in this grace of
the king to the lord Lome, that exceeded all men's
comprehension : for his majesty caused all the estate
of the marquis of Argyle, which did not appear in
any degree so considerable as it was generally be-
lieved to have been, to be seized upon as forfeited
to him ; and then would grant it to the son so abso-
lutely, that neither the owners should recover what
had been injuriously and violently taken from them
for their loyalty to the king, nor the creditors re-
ceive satisfaction for the just debts which were due
1 have treated asj Omitted in MS.
T 3
278 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
16('3- to them, and which must have been satisfied if the
king had retained the forfeiture. But upon the ap-
plication of the commissioner and the other lords,
that the king would hear all persons concerned,
there was some mitigation in those particulars, not-
withstanding all the opposition which Lautherdale
did barefaced make on the behalf of the lord Lome,
and which the other bore with great indignation :
which he knew very well, and did believe that the
oath and subscription, which he well knew they had
contrived for the next session of parliament, was le-
velled at him; that not taking it, as they did not
believe he would do, the secretary of Scotland's
place might become void, which they had much ra-
ther should have been in any man's hand than in
his. And therefore he took all occasions to profess
and declare, besides his constant raillery against the
presbytery, " that if they should require him to sub-
" scribe that he is a Turk, he would do it before he
" would lose his office."
The matter of these offences being most in pri-
vate, and so not publicly taken notice of, they made
a fair show and kept good quarter towards each
other. And the king consenting to all that the
commissioner proposed with reference to the public,
being indeed abundantly satisfied with his comport-
ment, and at parting promising to give him the of-
fice of treasurer, when by Crawford's refusing to
.The com- subscribe it should become void ; they, with all their
aJiTbishops bishops, returned again for Scotland with incurable
Scotland, jealousy of Lautherdale, who remained waiting upon
the king, and resolved to cross all their designs he
could, and quietly to expect a better opportunity to
undo what he could not for the present prevent.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 279
It is time now to return to the parliament of 1664.
England, which, according to the time of the pro- The Eng.
rogation, met again in March towards the entrance ^^J,1^.
into the year 1664 : when at their first meeting the
king informed them at large of the insurrection that
had been endeavoured in the summer before in
Yorkshire, which, how foolishly soever contrived,
was a very great instance of the distemper of the
nation ; that three years after the disbanding of the
army, the officers thereof should remain still so un-
quiet, as to hope to give any signal disturbance to
the peace of the kingdom, by such a commotion as
they could upon their credit raise.
The continual discourse of plots and insurrections An insur-
had so wearied the king, that he even resolved to tended in
give no more countenance to any such informations, Yorksbire>
nor to trouble himself with inquiry into them ; but
to leave the peace of the kingdom against any such
attempts to the vigilance of the civil magistrates,
and the care of the officers of the militia, which he
presumed would be sufficient to quell and suppress
any ordinary fanatic design. And upon this reso-
lution, and to avoid the reproach of the late times,
of contriving plots only to commit men to prison
against whom there was any prejudice, he totally
neglected the first information he received of this
seditious purpose. But when the intelligence was
continued from several parts, and so particular for
the time and place of the rendezvous, and for the
seizing upon the city of York ; and there was evi-
dence that some men of estate and fortune, and who
were held wary and discreet men, were engaged in
it ; his majesty thought it time to provide against it,
and not only commended the care of it to the lords
T 4
280 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
I6fi4. lieutenants and deputy lieutenants of the counties
~~ adjacent, but sent likewise several troops of his own
horse to possess the city of York before the day ap-
pointed, and to attend some of the places of the ren-
But prc- dezvous. And they came very seasonably, and sur-
vented. . ., , . _ , .
prised many upon the very place, before their com-
pany was strong enough to make resistance. Others
did make some resistance, but quickly fled and were
dispersed. Many were taken, and upon their ex-
amination behaved themselves as if they were sure
to be quickly rescued ; for it appeared that they did
believe that the insurrection would have been ge-
neral throughout the kingdom, and that all the dis-
banded army would have been brought together at
several rendezvouses.
All the prisons in the north were so full, that the
king thought it necessary to send down four or five
of the judges of the several benches of Westminster-
hall to York, with a commission of oyer and ter-
miner, to examine the whole matter. There, though
the judges did not believe that they had discovered
the bottom of the whole conspiracy, they found
Some of the cause to condemn very many ; whereof seventeen or
eighteen were executed, some reprieved, and very
many left in prison to be tried at the next assizes.
Amongst those who were executed, the man who
was most looked upon was one Rymer, of the qua-
lity of the better sort of grand-jurymen, and held a
wise man, and was known to be trusted by the
greatest men who had been in rebellion : and he
was discovered by a person of intimate trust with
him, who had heretofore the same affections with
him, but would venture no more. He was a sullen
man, and used few words to excuse himself, and
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 281
none to hurt any body else ; though he was thought 1664.
to know much, and that having a good estate he~
would never have embarked in a design that had no
probability of success. Some of the prisoners de-
clared, " that they were assured by those who en-
" ga£ed them, that such and such great men would
" appear at the rendezvous or soon after." But
that was not thought a sufficient ground to trouble
any man, though some of them were very liable to
suspicion ; since in all combinations of that kind, it
is a most usual artifice to work upon weak men, by
persuading them that other men, of whom they have
great esteem, are engaged in it, who in truth know
nothing of it.
The judges were returned from York little time
before the parliament met ; and therefore the king
thought it fit to awaken them to much vigilance, by
informing them with what secrecy that conspiracy
had been carried. And his majesty assured them, The king's
" that he was not yet at the bottom of that busi-
" ness ; and that it appeared manifestly, that this n
" conspiracy was but a branch of that which he had
" discovered as well as he could to them about two
" years since, and had been then executed nearer
" hand, if he had not by God's goodness come to
" the knowledge of some of the principal contrivers,
" and so secured them from doing the mischief they
" intended."
His majesty told them, " that they would wonder
" (yet he said what was true) that they were now
" even in those parts, when they see their friends
" under trial and execution, still pursuing the same
" consultations : and it was evident that they had cor-
" respondence with desperate persons in most coun-
282 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " ties, and a standing council in London itself, from
~" " which they received their directions, and by whom
" they were advised to defer their last intended in-
" surrection. But those orders served only to dis-
" tract them, and came too late to prevent their
" destruction." He said, " he knew more of their
" intrigues, than they thought he did ; and hoped he
*' should shortly discover the bottom : in the mean
" time he desired the parliament, that they might
" all be as watchful to prevent, as they were to con-
" trive their mischief." He said, " he could not
*' upon this occasion omit to tell them, that these
" desperate men in their counsels (as appeared by
" several examinations) had not been all of one mind
" in the ways of carrying on their wicked resolu-
" tions. Some would still insist upon the authority
" of the long parliament, of which they say they have
" members enough willing to meet : others have fan-
" cied to themselves, by some computation of their
" own, upon some clause in the triennial bill, that
" this present parliament was at an end some months
" since ; and that for want of new writs they may
" assemble themselves, and choose members for par-
" liament ; and that this is the best expedient to
" bring themselves together for their other pur-
" poses. For the long parliament," his majesty said,
" that he and they together could do no more than
" he had done to inform and compose the minds of
" men ; let them proceed upon that at their peril.
" But he- thought there had been nothing done to
" disabuse men in respect of the triennial bill. He
" confessed that he had often himself read over that
" bill ; and though there is no colour for the fancy
" of the determination of this parliament ; yet he
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 283
" would not deny to them, that he had always ex- 1665.
" pected that they would, and even wondered that"
" they had not considered the wonderful clauses in
" that bill, which had passed in a time very uncare-
" ful for the dignity of the crown, or the security of
" the people." His majesty desired the speaker and
the gentlemen of the house of commons, " that
" they would once give that triennial bill a reading
" in their house ; and then in God's name they
" might do what they thought fit for him, them-
" selves, and the whole kingdom." His majesty
said, " that he needed not tell them how much he
" loved parliaments : never king was so much be-
" holden u to parliaments as he had been ; nor did
" he think that the crown could ever be happy with-
" out frequent parliaments. But he wished them
'* to assure themselves, that if he should think other-
" wise, he would never suffer a parliament to come
" together by the means prescribed by that bill."
He renewed his thanks to them " for the free
" supply they gave him the last session of four sub-
" sidies ; yet he could not but tell them, that that
" supply was fallen much short of what he expected
" and they intended. That it would hardly be be-
" lieved, yet they knew it to be true, that very many
" persons, who have estates of three or four thou-
" sand pounds by the year, do not pay for these four
" subsidies sixteen pounds : so that whereas they
*' intended and declared, that they should be col-
" lected according to former precedents, they do not
" now arise to half the proportion they did in the
" time of queen Elizabeth ; and yet sure the crown
11 beholden] beholding
1665. " wants more now than it did then, and the subject
~~" is at least as well able to give." His majesty said,
" the truth is, by the license of the late ill time, and
" ill humour of this, too many of the people, and
" even of those who make fair professions, believe it
" to be no sin to defraud the crown of any thing
" that is due to it. That they no sooner gave him
" tonnage and poundage, than men were devising
" all the means they could to steal custom ; nor
" could the farmers be so vigilant for the collection,
" as others were to steal the duties. They gave him
" the excise, which all people abroad believed to be
" the most insensible imposition that can be laid
" upon a people : what conspiracies and combina-
" tions were entered into against it by the brewers,
" who he was sure did not bear the burden them-
" selves, even to bring that revenue to nothing, they
" would hear in Westminster-hall. They had given
" him the chimney-money, which they had reason
" to believe was a growing revenue, for men build
" at least fast enough ; and they would therefore
" wonder, that it was already declined, and that this
" half year brings in less than the former did." He
desired them therefore, " that they would review that
" bill ; and since he was sure that they would have
" him receive whatsoever they gave, that he might
" have the collecting and husbanding of it by his
" own officers, and then he doubted not but to im-
" prove that receipt, and he would be cozened as
" little as he could."
His majesty concluded with " desiring and con-
" juring them to keep a very good correspondence
" together, that it might not be in the power of any
" seditious or factious spirits to make them jealous
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 285
" of each other, or either of them jealous of him, till 1665.
" they see him pretend one thing and do another, ~~
" which he was sure they had never yet done." He
assured them, " it should be in nobody's power to
" make him jealous of them." And so desired them,
" that they would despatch what they found neces-
" sary, that they might be ready for a session within
" two months or thereabout, because the season of
" the year would invite them all to take the country
" air."
It was very happy for his majesty, that he did
cut out their work to their hand, and asked no
money of them, and limited them a short time to
continue together. It made their counsels very una-
nimous : and though they raised no new taxes and
impositions upon the people, they made what they
had before raised much more valuable to the king
than it was before, by passing other acts and decla-
rations for the explaining many things, and the bet-
ter collecting the money they had formerly given ;
which much added to his majesty's profit without
grieving the people, who were rather gratified in the
remedies which were provided against frauds and
cozenage.
The parliament had sat but very little more than The trien.
ten days, when they presented a bill to his majesty repealed.
for the repeal of the triennial bill, which he had re-
commended to them ; which x was so grateful to
him, that he came in person to the house to pass
it and to thank them : and he told them, " that
" every good Englishman would thank them for it ;
" for it could only have served to discredit parlia-
x which] and which
286 CONTINUATON OF THE LIFE OF
1 665. " ments, to make the crown jealous of parliaments
"~ " and parliaments of the crown, and persuaded
" neighbour princes that England was not governed
" under a monarch." The truth is : it had passed
in a very jealous and seditious time, when the
wickedness was first in hatching, that ripened after-
wards to a dismal perfection ; and when all, who
were sworn never to consent to the disherison of the
crown, thought only of preserving their own inhe-
ritance which they had gotten, or improving it at
the expense of the crown ; and made it manifest
enough, that it should wither, at least while it stood
upon the head of that king ; for at that time the
conspiracy went no further, that is amongst those
who had then credit to promote its passage, though
they were weak men who thought it could rest
there.
some acts As they made this entrance, so they were wholly
passed.
intent upon matters of moment, and despatched all
they intended to do within the two months, in
which the king desired they would be ready for a
prorogation. And as there was greater order and
unanimity in their debates, so they despatched more
business of public importance and consequence, than
any other parliament had done in twice the time :
for, besides the repeal of the odious bill before men-
tioned, they made a very good additional bill for the
chimney-money, which made that revenue much
more considerable; and they passed likewise an-
other bill against the frequenting of conventicles,
which was looked upon as the greatest discounte-
nance the parliament had yet given to all the fac-
tions in religion, and if it had been vigorously exe-
cuted would no doubt have produced a thorough re-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 287
formation. They made likewise a very good act, I6C5.
and very necessary for a time of such corruption, ~"
that had contracted new ways of dishonesty and vil-
lany that former times had not thought of, when
many unworthy and .cowardly masters of ships and
seamen had been contented to be robbed, and to
suffer y all their owners' goods to be taken, upon an
allowance made to them by the pirates ; for the dis-
covery and punishment whereof the law had not
enough provided. They therefore presented a bill
to the king, " for the discovery and punishment of
" all such treacherous and infamous actions ; and
" for the reward of such honest and stout seamen, as
" should manfully and courageously defend their
" owners' goods, and therein maintain the honour of
" the nation."
All this they presented to his majesty, and it z was
confirmed by his royal assent on the seventeenth of
May ; when his majesty, after giving such thanks to
them as they deserved, told them, " he did not in-
" tend to bring them together again till the month
" of November, that they might enjoy the summer
" in the transaction of their own affairs : yet be-
" cause there might some emergent occasion fall
" out, that might make him wish to find them to-
" gether sooner, he would prorogue them only to
" August ; and before the day they should have sea-
" sonable notice, by proclamation, not to give their
" attendance, except such occasion should fall out."
And so they were prorogued to a day in August, The pariia
but met not till November following. rosu«i.
During this short session of parliament, they, who
> suffer] Not in MS. *• it] Not in MS.
288 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. were very solicitous to promote a war with Holland,
~~ forget not what they had to do ; but they quickly
discerned that it was not a good season to mention
the giving of money, (which the king himself had
forborne to mention, that the people might see one
session of parliament pass without granting new im-
positions, which they had not yet seen,) and there-
fore it would be as unseasonable to speak of a war.
However, they made such an approach towards it,
as might make a further advance much more easy.
The mer- The merchants in the committee of trade much la-
monstr&te mented the obstructions and discouragements, which
DutTh! the tnev nad l°n& f°und in their commerce by sea with a
other nations, and which were not removed even by
the blessed return of the king ; all which they im-
puted to the pride and insolence of the Hollanders,
" who," they said, " observed no laws of commerce,
"or any conditions which themselves consented to.
" That by their fraud and practice the English were
" almost driven out of the East and West Indies,
" and had their trade in Turkey and in Africa much
" diminished. In sum, that besides many insuffer-
" able indignities offered by them to his majesty and
" to the crown of England, his subjects had in few
" years sustained the damage of seven or eight hun-
" dred thousand pounds sterling."
All which with some particular instances being
reported from the committee of trade to the house,
they had desired an audience from his majesty, and
then presented this grievance to him, and desired
his majesty, " that he would give such order in it,
" as to his wisdom should seem fit, that might pro-
a with] and with
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 289
•' duce just and honourable satisfaction." The king, 1665:
who continued firm to his former resolution, an-~
swered them, " that he would transmit the address
" they had presented to him to his resident at the
" Hague, with order that he should inform the
" States of it, and require satisfaction, which he
" hoped the States General would yield unto, rather
" than compel b him to demand justice in another
" way." The answer pleased them well, nor could
they wish that the prosecution should be put into
a better hand than the resident's, who was a mem-
ber of the house, and a man who had inflamed them
more than the merchants themselves against the
Dutch.
That resident was sir George Downing, a man of character of
an obscure birth, and more obscure education, which Downing*
he had received in part in New England: he had
passed through many offices in Cromwell's army, of
chaplain, scoutmaster, and other employments, and
at last got a very particular credit and confidence
with him, and under that countenance married a
beautiful lady of a very noble extraction, which
was the fate of many bold men in that presump-
tuous time. And when Cromwell had subdued the
Dutch to that temper he wished, and had thereupon
made a peace with them, he sent this man to reside
as his agent with them, being a man of a proud and
insolent spirit, and whoc would add to any imperious
command of his somewhat of the bitterness of his
own spirit.
And he did so fully execute his charge in all
b than compel] than they compel c who] Omitted in MS.
VOL. I. U
290 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. things, especially when he might manifest his ani-
""mosity against the royal party, that when the king
himself had once, during his residence at Brussels,
for his divertisement made a journey incognito, with
not above four persons, to see Amsterdam, and
from thence the towns of North Holland ; Downing
coming to have notice of it delivered a memorial to
the States of Holland, wherein he enclosed the third
article of their treaty, by which they were obliged
" not to suffer any traitor, rebel, or any other per-
" son, who was declared an enemy to the common-
" wealth of England, to reside or stay in their do-
" minions ;" and told them, " that Charles Stuart and
" the marquis of Ormond had been lately in Am-
" sterdam, and were still in some places adjacent ;"
and required " that they might not be permitted to
" remain in any part of their dominions." Where-
upon the States of Holland sent presently to the
princess royal, who was then at her country house
at Hounslerdike, " that if her brother were then
" with her or should come to her, he should forth-
" with depart out of their province :" and not satis-
fied herewith, they published an order in the Hague
to the same purpose, which was sent to Amsterdam
and other towns according to their custom.
With this rude punctuality he behaved himself
during the life of Cromwell, and whilst his son re-
tained the usurpation ; but when he saw him thrown
out with that contempt, and that the government
was not like to be settled again till there was a re-
sort to the old foundation, he bethought himself how
he might have a reserve of the king's favour. And
the marquis of Ormond making about that time a
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 291
journey incognito to the Hague, to treat of'1 a mar- 1C65.
riage for his eldest son with a noble lady whose*"
friends lived there, Downing found opportunity to
have a private conference with him, and made offer
of his service to the king, if his devotion might be
concealed, without which it would be useless to his
majesty. And for an earnest of his fidelity, he in-
formed him of some particulars which were of mo-
ment for the king to know : amongst which one
was, " that a person, who in respect of his very ho-
" nourable extraction, and the present obligations
" himself had to the royal family, was not suspected,
" gave him, as he had long done, constant intelli-
" gence of what the king did, and of many particu-
" lars which in their nature deserved to be more se-
" cret, which he had always sent to Cromwell whilst
" he was living ; but since his death, having a reso-
" lution to serve the king, he had never disserved
" him, and would hereafter give him notice of any
" thing that it would be necessary for him e to be
" informed of with reference to England or to Hol-
« land."
The marquis thought it very fit to accept of such
an instrument, and promised him " to acquaint his
" majesty with his good affection, who he presumed
" would receive it graciously, and give him as much
" encouragement to continue it as his present condi-
" tion would permit." To which the other replied,
" that he knew the king's present condition too well
" to expect any reward from him : but if his ma-
" jesty would vouchsafe, when he should be re-
a to treat of] Omitted in MS. f for him] Not. in MS.
u 2
292 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
16C5. " stored, to confirm to him the office he then held
" of a teller in the exchequer, and continue him in
" this employment he then had in Holland, where
" he presumed he should be able to do him more
" service than a stranger could do, he would think
" himself abundantly rewarded." Of all which when
the marquis advertised the king at his return to
Brussels, he had authority to assure him " of the
" king's acceptation, and that all that he expected
" should be made good."
This was the ground and reason, that when the
king came to the Hague the year following to em-
bark for England, he received Downing so gra-
ciously, and knighted him, and left him there as his
resident; which they who were near the king, and
knew nothing of what had passed, wondered at as
much as strangers who had observed his former be-
haviour. And the States themselves, who would not
at such a time of public joy do any thing that might
be ingrateful to his majesty, could not forbear to la-
ment in private, " that his majesty would depute a
" person to have his authority, who had never used
" any other dialect to persuade them to do any thing
" he proposed, but threats if they should not do it,
" and who at several times had disobliged most of
" their persons by his insolence." And from the
time of his majesty's departure from thence, he
never made those representations which men in
those ministeries used to do, but put the worst com-
mentaries upon all their actions. And when, he sat
afterwards as a member of the house, returning still
in the interval of parliament to his employment at
the Hague, he took all opportunities to inveigh
war.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 293
against their usurpations in trade; and either did or 16G5.
pretended to know many of their mysteries of ini-~~
quity, in opening of which he rendered himself ac-
ceptable to the house, though he was a voluminous
speaker, which naturally they do not like.
When this province was committed to him ofHeendea-
vours to
expostulation for the injuries sustained in several bring on a
places from the Dutch, he had his wish, and used
little modesty in the urging of it. They answered,
" that most of the particulars of which he com-
" plained were put under oblivion by the late
" treaty, and that in consideration thereof they had
" yielded to many particulars for the benefit of the
" English ; and that for the other particulars, they
" were likewise by the same treaty referred to a
" process in justice, of which they had yet no cause
" to complain : nor had there been any action pre-
" tended to be committed since the treaty was con-
" eluded," which was not many months before, " that
" might occasion a misunderstanding." And surely
at this time when these things were urged all this
was true : but he, according to the method he had
been accustomed tof, insisted upon his own de-
mands ; and frequently reproached them with their
former submissions to Cromwell, and their present
presumptions upon the goodness and generosity of
the king.
It is without question, that the States General
did, by the standard of their own wariness and cir-
cumspection, not suspect that the king did intend to
make a war upon them. They well knew the straits
and necessities in which his affairs stood, with re-
f to] Not in MS.
u 3
294 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1605. fercnce to money, and to the several distempers of
~ the nation in matters of religion, which might pro-
bably grow more dangerous if there were a foreign
war; and concluded, that Downing's importunities
and menaces were but the results of his own impe-
tuosity, and that the king would not be solicitous to
interrupt and part with his own peace. And there-
fore their own ships they sent out as they used to
do1, and those for the coast of Guinea better prepared
and stronger than of course. Nor was the royal
company less vigilant to carry on that trade, but
about the same time sent a stronger fleet of mer-
chants' ships than they had ever before done ; and
for their better encouragement the king lent them
two of his own ships for a convoy.
The i»so- And at this time they gave the king an advantage
lent beha- . . „.. •, • •, 1*11
viour of the in point of justice, and which concerned all other
the coast"of nations in point of traffick and commerce. It had
Guinea, j^^ |jegUI1 by them in the East Indies; where
they had * planted themselves in great and strong
towns, and had many harbours well fortified, in
which they constantly maintained a great number
of good and strong ships ; by which they were ab-
solute masters of those seas, and forced the neigh-
bour kings and princes to enter into such terms of
amity with them as they thought fit to require.
And if they found that any advantageous trade was
driven in any port by any other nation, they pre-
sently sent their ships to lie before that port, and
denounced war against the prince to whom that
port belonged ; which being done, they published a
declaration, " that it should not be lawful for any
s they had] after they had
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 295
" nation whatsoever to trade in the territories of J665.
" that prince with whom they then were in war."
And upon this pretence they would not suffer an
English ship, belonging to the East India company,
to enter into a port to lade and take in a cargason
of goods, that had been provided by their factors
there before there was any mention or imagination
of such a war, and of which there was no other in-
stance of hostility than the very declaration. And
at this time they transplanted this new prerogative
to Guinea : and having, as they said, for there was
no other evidence of it, a war with one of those
princes, they would not suffer the English ships to
enter into those harbours where they had always
traded. The king received animadversion of this
unheard of insolence and usurpation, and added this
more just complaint to the former, and required his
resident " to demand a positive renunciation of all
" pretence to such an odious usurpation, and a revo-
" cation of those orders which their officers had
" published." To this complaint and demand they
deferred to make answer, till their ambassador had
presented a grievance to the king.
One of those ships of war, which the king had An English
lent to the royal company for the convoy of their seizes a
fleet to Guinea, had in the voyage thither assaulted onutche 01
and taken a fort belonging to the Dutch near Cape
Verde; which was of more incommodity to them
than of benefit to the English. Of this invasion
their ambassador made a loud complaint, and de-
manded, " that the captain might be punished se-
" verely ; and in the mean time that the king would
" give a present order to him, the ambassador, for
" the redelivery of the place and all that was in it,
u 4
296 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 665. " and he would send it to his masters, who would
~" forthwith send a ship to demand it." The king
had in truth heard nothing of it ; and assured the
ambassador, " that the captain, if he had done any
" such thing, had not the least commission or au-
" thority for the doing it ; and that he was sure he
" was upon his way homeward, so that he might be
" expected speedily ; and then he should be sure to
" undergo such punishment as the nature of his
" offence required, when the matter should be ex-
" amined, and they should then receive full repara-
" tion." This answer, how reasonable soever, satis-
fied them not : nothing would serve their h turn but
a present restitution, before his majesty could be
informed of the provocation or ground that had pro-
duced so unwarrantable an action. They gave pre-
sent orders for the equipping a very great fleet, and
the raising many land soldiers, making greater pre-
parations for war than they had made in many years
The Dutch before. They likewise prepared a strong fleet for
strmTg'fleet Guinea, and granted a commission (which was pub-
for Guinea. lighed in pT^n^ to the comman(jer in chief, " to
" make war upon the English in those parts, and to
" do them all the mischief he i could."
Prince Rupert, who had been heretofore with the
fleet then under his command, in the beginning of
the king's reign, upon the coast of Guinea, (and by
the report and testimony he gave of that coast the
royal company had received greater k encourage-
ment,) now ] upon this insolent demeanour of the
Dutch, and publishing the commission they had sent
h their] Not in MS. k greater] great
' he] they l now] and now
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 297
to their commander in chief, offered m his service to 1665.
the king, " to sail into those parts with such a fleet ~"
" as his majesty thought fit to send, with which he
" made little doubt to secure trade, and abate the
" presumption of the Dutch." And hereupon a fleet The English
was likewise preparing for that purpose, to be com-n^eCiTe.0"
manded by prince Rupert.
The parliament had before declared, when they
made their address to the king against the Dutch
for obstructing the trade, " that they would with
" their lives and fortunes assist his majesty against
" all oppositions whatsoever, which he should meet
" with in the removal of those obstructions ;" which
they believed would terrify, but in truth made the
Dutch merry : and in some of their declarations or
answers to Downing's memorials, they mentioned
it with too much pride and contempt. And in this The pariia-
posture the disputes were when the parliament met™'
again in November, which came together for the
most part without a desire either to give money or
make war. And Downing, who laboured heartily
to incense us and to provoke them, in all his de-
spatches declared, " that all those insolences pro-
" ceeded only from the malignity of the States of
" Holland, which could vent itself no further than
" in words ; but that the States General, without
"whose concurrence no war could be made, abhor-
" red the thought of it :" and there is no doubt that
was true. And the Dutch ambassador, who re-
mained at London, and was a very honest weak
man, and did all the offices he could to prevent it,
did not think it possible it could come to pass ; " and
m offered] he offered
298 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " that there might be some scuffles upon the coast of
~~ " Guinea, by the direction of the West India com-
" pany, of whose actions the States General took no-
" tice, but would cause justice to be done upon
" complaint, and not suffer the public peace to be
" disturbed upon their pretences." And so the king
forbore to demand any supply from the parlia-
ment, because an ordinary supply would rather
discredit his demands than advance them, and he
could not expect an extraordinary supply but when
the war was unquestionable. And the States Ge-
neral at this time were made a property by the
States of Holland, (who had given private orders
for their own concernments,) and presented an
humble desire to the king by their ambassador,
" that prince Rupert's fleet might stay in harbour,
" as theirs likewise that was prepared for Guinea
" should do, till some means might be found for
" the accommodation of all differences." Whereas
before they pretended, that they would send their
Guinea fleet through the Channel, convoyed by
their admiral with a fleet of fifty sail ; which re-
port had before stopped prince Rupert, when he
was under sail for Guinea, to wait and expect that
piece of bravery. But this address from the States
General made all men believe there would be an
accommodation, without so much as any hostility in
Guinea.
The uea- But it was quickly discovered, that they were
hariour of the honester men when they gave the worst words.
the Dutch. For before the states General sent to the king to
stop prince Rupert in harbour, " and that their
" fleets should likewise remain in their harbours,"
the States of Holland, or that committee that was
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 299
qualified by them, had with great privacy sent orders 1 665.
to De Ruyter, who was in the Mediterranean, " to
" make all possible haste with his fleet to go to the
" coast of Guinea, and not only to retake the fort near
" Cape Verde that the English had taken from them,
" but likewise to take what places he could which
" were in possession of the English, and to do them
" what damage he could in those parts :" so that
they might well offer that their fleet should now
remain in their harbours in Holland.
When De Ruyter had been sent into the Medi-
terranean, the pretence was, that it was against the
pirates 0f Algiers and Tunis, who had in truth
preyed very much upon the Dutch, taken very many
of their ships, and had abundance of their subjects
in chains. And when that fleet was sent into the
Mediterranean, their ambassador had desired the
king, " that his majesty's fleet that was then in those
" parts might upon all occasions join with De Ruy-
" ter, when opportunity should be offered thereby
" to infest the Turks ;" which the king consented
to, and sent orders accordingly. But the Dutch
had no such purpose : his business was to ransom
their captives with money, and not to exact the deli-
very of them by force ; and to make an accommo-
dation for the time to come as well as he could.
And when the English fleet was at any time in
pursuit of any of the Turks' vessels, and expected
that the Dutch, by whom they must pass, would
have given a little stop to their flight, which they
might easily have done; they rather assisted than
obstructed their escape. And having made a very
dishonourable peace with the pirates, he made haste
to prosecute his orders for the coast of Guinea.
300 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. As soon as the king knew of this impudent af-
h front, and that De Ruyter was in truth gone out of
an tefzed.* the Mediterranean, he thought he might justly seize
upon any ships of theirs, to satisfy the damage that
he could not but sustain by De Ruyter in Guinea :
and so, it being the season of the year that the
Dutch fleet returned with their wines from Bour-
deaux, Rochelle, and other parts of France, such of
them as were forced by the weather to put into the
English harbours were seized upon. And the duke
of York, having put himself on board with a fleet of
about fifty sail, upon the report of the Dutch being
come out to defend their ships, took many others,
even upon their own coasts ; which they chose ra-
ther to suffer, than to venture out of their ports
to relieve them. However, there was not any one
of all those ships suffered to be unladen, or any pre-
judice done to them ; but they were all preserved
unhurt, till notice might arrive from Guinea what
The Dutch De Ruyter had done there. But undoubted intelli-
hostmtieT gence arrived in a very short time after, that De
in Gumea. Ruvter j^ declared and begun the war upon the
coast of Africa, not only by a forcible retaking the
fort which had been taken from them, and which
his majesty had offered to deliver, but by seizing
upon several English ships in those parts, and by
assaulting and taking other his majesty's forts and
places, and exercising all the acts of hostility which
his commission authorized him n to do.
They refuse .And in a very short time after, the East India
the iVand company complained and informed the king, " that
" wnen their officer had demanded the redelivery of
" him] Omitted in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 301
the isle of Poleroone according to the article of 1665.
" the late treaty, and delivered the letters and or-
" ders from the States General and States of Hol-
" land, which their ambassadors had given at Lon-
" don, to the governor and captain of that island ;
" he °, after making him stay two or three days
" there with his ship and the men he had brought
" with him, told him, that upon a better perusal of
" the orders which he had brought, he found that
" they were not sufficient ; and therefore till he
" should receive fuller orders, he could not give up
" the place." And so the officer and ship, which
had been sent at a great charge, were P necessitated
to return without any other ^ effect than the affront
and indignity to his majesty.
When there was now no remedy, and the war
was actually made upon the king upon what provo-
cation soever, there was nothing to be done but to
resort to the parliament, which had been so earnest
to enter into it. A fleet must be prepared equal to
what the Dutch would infallibly make ready against
the spring, and worthy of the presence of the duke
of York, who was impatient to engage his own per-
son in the conduct of it ; and the king had given
his promise to him that he should, when he had,
God knows, no purpose that there should be a war.
It was quickly1" discovered, that there was not the
same alacrity towards a war now, after it was
begun, in the parliament, as there had been when
they made their vote : and they would have been
glad that any expedient might have been found for
0 he] who fi other] Not in MS.
P were] was T quickly] now quickly
302 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 665. a reconciliation, and that the captain might have
been called in question, who first gave offence by
taking the fort from the Dutch near Cape Verde,
which some had pressed for when he came home,
before any more mischief was u done ; and the not
calling him in question made many believe, that he
had done nothing without warrant or promise of
protection.
The Dutch still disclaimed all thought or purpose
of war, and seemed highly offended with their go-
vernor of Poleroone, and protested, " that the not-
" delivery of the place proceeded only from want of
" an order from the governor of Batavia, which or-
" der came the next day after the English ship was
" departed : but that they had given notice of it to
" the English factory at Bantam, that the same or
" another English ship might return and receive it ;
" and they were confident that it was then in the
" hand of the English." But it was now too late to
expect any honourable peace, at least without mak-
ing very notable preparations for a war, which could *
not be done without ready money. And whatever
orders had been given for the preservation of the
Dutch ships, it quickly appeared that much of them
had been embezzled or disposed of, before they
were brought to any judicatory, or adjudged to be
prize ; and there was too much cause to fear, that
the rest would be disposed of to other purposes than
the support of the war; though nothing was more
positively spoken, than that the war would main-
tain itself.
The parliament still promised fairly, and entered
u was] Omitted in MS. * could] Omitted in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 303
upon consultation how and what money to raise. 1665.
And now the king commanded the chancellor and Z
Measures
the treasurer to meet with those members of thetakento
_ . dispose the
house of commons, with whom they had used to parliament
consult, and to whom the king had joined others sup
upon whom he was told he might more depend, and for a war>
to adjust together what sum should be proposed, and
how and in what manner to propose and conduct it.
It was about the month of January. And though
the duke took indefatigable pains, by going himself
sometimes to Portsmouth and sometimes to Chat-
ham, to cause the ships and all provisions to be
ready, that he might be at sea before the Dutch ;
yet let what advance could be made, as indeed
there was great, nothing could be said to be done,
till a great stock of ready money could be provided ;
and it would be long after the parliament had done
their part, before ready money would be got ; and
therefore no more time must be lost, without taking
a particular resolution.
The meeting of those persons the king appointed A meeting
was at Worcester-house, where the chancellor and L-dTami
treasurer (who were known to be averse from the comm
war) told the rest, " that there was no more debate for that
purpose.
" now to be, war or no war : it was come upon us,
" and we were now only to contrive the best way of
" carrying it on with success ; which could only be
" done by raising a great present sum of money,
" that the enemy might see that we were prepared
" to continue it as well as to begin." They who
were most desirous of the war, as sir Harry Bennet
and Mr. Coventry, (who were in truth the men who
brought it upon the nation,) with their friends, were
of the opinion, " that there should not be a great
3P4 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " sum demanded at present, but only so much as
~~ " might carry out the fleet in the spring, and that Y
" sufficient provisions might be made for the sum-
" mer service : and then, when the war was once
" thoroughly entered into, another and a better sup-
" ply might be gotten about Michaelmas, when
" there was reason to hope, that some good success
" would dispose all men to a frank prosecution of
" the war." Whereas these gentlemen had hitherto
inflamed the king with an assurance, " that he
" could not ask more money of the parliament than
" they would readily give him, if he would be en-
" gaged in this war which the whole kingdom so
" much desired."
The chancellor and the treasurer were of opinion,
" that the house of commons could never be in a
" better disposition to give, than they were at pre-
" sent ; that hereafter they might grow weary, and
" apt to find fault with the conduct, especially when
" they found the country not so well pleased with
** the war as they were now conceived to be : where-
" as, now the war was begun, and the king engaged
" in it as much as he could be after ten battles, and
" all upon their desire and their promise ; they
" could not refuse to give any thing proposed with-
" in the compass of that reason, which all under-
" standing men might examine and judge of. That
" it was evident enough, that the true ground of all
" the confidence the Dutch had was from their opin-
" ion of the king's necessities and want of money,
" and their belief that the parliament would supply
" him very sparingly, and not long to continue such
y that] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 305
" an expense, as they very well knew that a war at 1665.
" sea would require : and they would be much con- ~"
" firmed in this their imagination, if at the begin-
" ning they should see the parliament give him such
" a sum of money, as seemed to be implied by what
" had been said. That they therefore thought it
" absolutely necessary, that the king should propose
" as much, that is, that his friends should move for
" such a sum, as might upon a reasonable computa-
" tion, which every man would be ready to make,
" and of which wise men upon experience would ea-
" sily make an estimate, carry on the war for a full
" year ; that is, for the setting out the present fleet
" and paying it off upon its return, and for the set-
" ting out another fleet the next spring. If this were
" now done, his majesty would not be involved in
" importunate necessities the next winter ; but he
" might calmly and deliberately consult upon such
" further supplies, as the experience of what would
" be then past should suggest to be necessary : and
" that this would give his majesty such a reputation
" with all his neighbours, and such terror to his
" enemies, that it would probably dispose them to
" peace."
They told them, " the best method to compute
" what the expense might amount to in a year,
" would be by reflecting upon the vast disproportion
" of the charge we were now already engaged in,
" and what had been estimated four months since,
" when the war was designed. That it was well
" known to Mr. Coventry, who had been always
" present at those conferences, that it had been said
" by the most experienced sea-officers, and those
" who had fought all the late battles against the
VOL. II. X
1665. " Dutch, that a fleet of forty or fifty such ships, as
the king's were, would be strength sufficient to
" beat all the ships the Dutch had out of the narrow
" seas ; and one very eminent man amongst them
" said, he would not desire above fifty ships to fight
" with all they had, and that he was confident
" that a greater number than fifty could never
" be brought to fight orderly or usefully : and yet
" that there were at present no fewer than four-
" score good ships preparing for the duke. And
" the charge in many other particulars appeared al-
" ready to amount to double the sum that was first
" computed."
They concluded, " that a less sum than two mil-
" lions and a half" (which is five and twenty hun-
dred thousand pounds sterling) " ought not to be
" proposed, and being once proposed ought to be in-
" sisted on and pursued without consenting to any
" diminution ; for nobody could conceive that it
" would do more than maintain the war one year,
" which the parliament could not refuse to provide
" for in the beginning, as there was a so much in
" truth of it already expended in the preparations
" and expedition the duke had made in November,
" when he went to sea upon the fame of the Dutch
" fleet's intention to convoy their Guinea ships
" through the channel."
There was not a man in the company, who did
not heartily wish that that sum or a greater might
be proposed and granted : but they all, though they
agreed in few other things, protested, " that they
" could not advise that so prodigious a sum should
• as there was] and there being already
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 307
"be as much as named; and that they did not lf>65.
" know any one man, since it could not be thought"
" fit that any man who had relation to the king's
" service should move it, who had the courage to
" attempt it, or would be persuaded to it."
The two lords continued very obstinate, " that a
" less sum should not be named for the reasons they
" had given," which the other confessed to be just;
and they acknowledged too, "that the proposition
" ought not to be made by any man who wasb re-
" lated to the court, or was thought to be in any
" grace there that might dispose him, nor yet by
" any gentleman, how well soever thought of, who
" was of a small estate, and so to pay little of so
" great a sum he was so liberal to give." They
therefore desired them " to name some of those
" members, who were honest worthy men, and
" looked upon as lovers of their country, and of
" great fortunes, unsuspected to have any designs •
" at court; and if they were not enough acquainted
" with them, the lords would find some way by
" themselves or others to move them to it." Where-
upon they named five or six persons very well
known, of whom the house had a very good esteem,
but without any hope that any c of them would be
prevailed with to undertake it. The lords said,
" they would try what might be done, and give
" them notice the next day, that if it were possible
" it might be the business of the following day."
The chancellor and the treasurer chose three
Norfolk gentlemen of those who had been named,
because they were good friends and grateful to each
b was] Omitted in MS. c any] either
X 2
308 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. other, and desired them the next day " that they
~~ " might confer together." They told them, " they
" knew well the state of affairs ; the parliament had
" engaged the king in a war, that could not be car-
" ried on without a vast expense : and therefore if
" at the entrance into it there should be a small or
" an ordinary supply given, it would blast all their
" hopes, and startle all other princes from joining,
" with whom the Dutch were not in favour, and
" who would be inclined to the king, if they saw
" such a provision for the war as would be sufficient
" to continue it for some time. And therefore they
" desired to confer with them, who upon all occa-
" sions manifested good affections to the king, and
" whose advice had a great influence upon the house,
" upon the whole matter how it might be conduct-
" ed." They all consented to what had been said,
and promised their own concurrence and utmost en-
deavours to compass what the king should desire.
The lords said, " they promised themselves more
" from them, and that they would not only concur,
" but propose what should be necessary to be grant-
" ed." And thereupon they enlarged upon the
charge which was already in view, and upon what
was to be expected, and concluded " that two mil-
" lions and a half were necessary to be insisted on ;"
and desired, " that when the debate should be en-
" tered upon, which they hoped might be the next
" day, one of them would propose this sum and the
" other would second it."
They looked long one upon another, as if they
were surprised with the sum. At last one of them
said, " that the reasons were unanswerable for a li-
" beral supply ; yet he did not expect that so prodi-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 309
" gious a sum, which he believed had never yet 1665.
" been mentioned in parliament to be granted at :
" one time, would be proposed : however, he did
" not think it too much, and that he would do the
" best he could to answer any objections which
" should be made against it, as he doubted many
" would ; but he confessed he durst not propose it."
Another was of the same mind, and with many good
professions desired to be excused as to the first pro-
posing it. The third, who was sir Robert Paston, a
person of a much greater estate than both the other,
who had yet very good fortunes, and a gentleman
of a very ancient extraction by his father, (and his
mother was daughter to the earl of Lindsey,) de-
clared very frankly, " that he was satisfied in his
" conscience, that it would be very good for the
" kingdom as well as for the king that such a sum
" should be granted : and therefore if they thought
" him fit to do it, he would propose it the next
" morning, let other men think what they would of
" him for it."
The lords gave him the thanks they ought to do,
and said what was necessary to confirm him, and to
thank the other gentlemen for their promise to se-
cond him, and gave notice to the rest of the resolu-
tion, that they might call for the debate the next
day ; which was entered into with a general cheer-
fulness, every man acknowledging the necessity and
the engagement of the house, but no man adventur-
ing to name the proportion that should be given.
When the house was in a deep silence expecting sir Robert
that motion, sir Robert Paston, who was no fre-
quent speaker, but delivered what he had a mind
say very clearly, stood up, mentioned shortly the
x 3
310 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1G65. obligation, the charge of the war, and "that the
~~" present supply ought to be such as might as well
" terrify the enemy as assist the king ; and therefore
" he proposed that they might give his majesty two
" millions and a half, which would amount to five
" and twenty hundred thousand pounds." The si-
lence of the house was not broken ; they sat as in
amazement, until a gentleman, who was believed to
wish well to the king, without taking notice of what
had been proposed, stood up, and moved that they
might give the king a much less proportion. But
then the two others, who had promised to second,
renewed the motion one after the other ; which
seemed to be entertained with a consent of many,
and was contradicted by none : so that, after a
short pause, no man who had relation to the court
speaking a word, the speaker put it to the question,
" whether they would give the king five and twenty
" hundred thousand pounds for the carrying on the
which is " war against the Dutch ;" and the affirmative
byThe ° made a good sound, and very few gave their nega-
house. j.jve a]OU(j) an(j it was notorious very many sat si-
lent. So the vote was presently drawn up into an
order ; and the house resolved the next day to be in
a committee, to agree upon the way that should be
taken for the raising this vast sum, the proportion
whereof could no more be brought into debate.
This brave vote gave the king the first liking of
the war : it was above what he had expected or in-
deed wished to be proposed. And they, who had
been at the first conference, and delivered the reso-
lution of the two lords as impossible to be com-
passed, not without insinuation as if it were affected
only to indispose the house to the war, (yet they did
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 311
not think fit to vary from the proportion, till they 1665.
saw the success of the proposition, which the lords'"
were engaged to procure a fit person to make,) when
they found the conclusion to be such as could be
wished, they commended the counsel, and fell into
another extreme, that in the thing itself and in the
consequence did very much harm ; which shall be
next mentioned, after I have said that there ap-
peared great joy and exaltation of spirit upon this
vote, and not more in the court than upon the ex-
change, the merchants generally being unskilfully
inclined to that war, above what their true interest
could invite them to, as in a short time afterwards
they had cause to confess.
The king sent to the lord mayor to call a com-
mon council, and commanded the chancellor, trea-
surer, and other lords of his council, to go thither ;
who, upon the credit of this vote of the house of
commons for this noble supply, prevailed with the
city presently to furnish the king with the loan of
two hundred thousand pounds ; which being within
few days paid into the hands of the treasurer of the
navy, all preparations for the fleet, and of whatever
else was necessary for the expedition, were pro-
vided with marvellous alacrity : and the parliament
made what haste was possible to despatch the bill,
by which their great present might be collected from
the people.
It hath been said before, that in most vacant
places, upon the death of any members, ways were
found out to procure some of the king's domestic
servants to be d elected in their places ; so that his
d to be] Not in MS.
x 4
312 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. majesty had many voices there at his .devotion;
~ which did not advance his service. These men con-
fidently ran out of the house still to inform the
king of what was doing, commended this man, and
discommended another who deserved better; and
would many times, when his majesty spake well of
any man, ask his majesty " if he would give them
" leave to let that person know how gracious his
" majesty was to him, or to bring him to kiss his
" hand." To which he commonly consenting, every
one of his servants delivered some message from
him to a parliament-man, and invited him to court
as if the king would be willing to see him. And by
this means the rooms at court, where the king was,
were always full of the members of the house of
commons ; this man brought to kiss his hand, and
the king induced to confer with that man, and to
thank him for his affection, which never could con-
clude without some general expression of grace or
promise, which the poor gentleman always inter-
preted to his own advantage, and expected some
fruit from it that it could never yield : all which,
being contrary to all former order, did the king no
good, and rendered those unable to do him service
who were inclined to it.
sir H. Ben- The new secretary, and sir Charles Berkley, who
net and sir . . .
c.Berkiey by this time was entered very far into the kings
amuse *?r favour and his confidence, were the chief, and by
R.paston. their places had access to him in all places and
hours : and they much disliked the officiousness of
the others, as if they presumed to invade their pro-
vince. They thought it but their due, that the king
should take his measures of the house of commons
by no other report but theirs, nor dispense his graces
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 313
there through any other conduit. They took this 1665.
occasion to caress sir Robert Paston, who was a~~
stranger to them, and to magnify the service he had
done the king, and the great sense the king had of
it, and that he e did long to give him his own thanks:
they invited him to come to the court, and sir
Charles Berkley told him as from the king, " that
" his majesty resolved to make him a baron." And
by these daily courtships and importunities the gen-
tleman, who was well satisfied with what he had
done, and never proposed any advantage to himself
from it, was amused, and thought he was not to
refuse any honour the king thought him worthy of,
nor to neglect those graces which were offered to
him by persons of their interest. Yet he made not
haste to go to the court, believing that it might
make him less capable of serving the king, and that
any favour his majesty should do him would be
more seasonable hereafter than at present, lest he
might be thought to have made that motion in the
house upon promise of the other reward. Yet after
continued invitations he went thither, and those
gentlemen presented him to the king, who spake very
graciously to him, told him, " he had done him great
" service, which he would never forget," and many
other princely expressions, and " that he should be
" glad to see him often," but no particular to that
purpose which had been mentioned to him.
When he went next, he found his majesty's coun-
tenance the same : but they, who had courted and
amused him so much, grew every day more dry and
reserved towards him ; of which he complained to a
e that he] Not in MS.
314 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. friend of his who he knew had interest in the chan-
cellor, and desired him to acquaint him with all that
had passed, who had not till then heard that he had
been at court, and when he was informed of the
whole relation was very much troubled, well know-
ing, that how acceptable soever those kinds of
courtships were for few days, they were attended
with many inconveniences when the end was not
correspondent with the beginning. He knew well
the resolution the king had taken to create no more
noblemen, the number whereof already too much
exceeded : however, he was very sorry, that a person
of that quality and merit should be exposed to any
indignity, for having endeavoured in such a con-
juncture to do his majesty a signal service, and suc-
ceeded so well ; and spake with the king at large of
it, and gave his majesty a full account of the mo-
desty and temper of the gentleman, of his quality
and interest, and what had been said and promised
to him. The king was troubled, owned all that he
had said himself to him, as being very hearty, and
" that he would never forget the service he had
" done, but requite it upon any opportunity ;" but
protested, " that he had never made any such pro-
" mise, nor given sir Charles Berkley any authority
" to mention any such thing to him, which would
" prove very inconvenient ;" and therefore wished,
" that his friend would divert him from prosecuting
" such a pretence, which he knew to be contrary to
" his resolution."
The chancellor knew not what to say, but truly
advertised his friend of all the king had said, who
again informed sir Robert Paston, who thought
himself very hardly treated, and went to sir Charles
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 315
Berkley, who had not the same open arms, yet as- 1665.
sured him, " that he had said nothing to him but by ~~
" the king's direction, which he must aver. That he
" did not use to interpose or move the king in any
" of his affairs : but if he would desire the chancel-
" lor to take notice of it, who he knew had a great
" affection for him, and upon whose desire he had
" performed that great service, he was confident it
" would be attended with the success he wished, to
" which he would contribute all his endeavours ;"
intimating, " that if he had not what he desired, he
'* might impute it to the chancellor." Upon which
sir Robert, who was well assured of the chancellor's
kindness, concluded that his court friends had de-
luded him, or expected money, which he would not
give: and so the matter ended with prejudice to
the king.
Notwithstanding these and the like very incon-
venient activities, which lost more friends than were
gotten by them, the noise of this stupendous supply,
given to the king at one time, made good impres-
sions upon all who had any affections for the king,
and was wondered at in those places where money
was most plenty. In Holland it wrought even to
consternation, and the common people cried aloud
for peace, and the States pretended to have great
hope as well as desire of it, and sent their ambas-
sador, who remained still in England, new orders
to solicit it.
In the mean time the king neglected not to apply The condu
what endeavours he could use, to dispose his allies England in
to act such parts as their own interest might
sonably invite them to. From France he expected
only neutrality, by reason he knew he had renewed
316 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. the alliance with the States; but never suspected,
~ that it was in such a manner as would hinder the
neutrality. Spain could do little good or harm, nor
durst it to engage against Holland : yet all was
done that was necessary towards a good correspond-
ence with it. The two northern kings would find
themselves concerned, at least to wish better to one
side than to the other ; and had been both so dis-
obliged by the Dutch, that had it not been for the
irreconcileable jealousy they had of each other, they
might have been united to the interest of England.
But Denmark had in the late war given what they
could not keep nor recover, and yet could hardly be
without; and Sweden looked with too much con-
tempt upon the weakness and unactivity of their
neighbour, to give back any thing they had got :
and this restrained them both from provoking an
enemy that might give strength to the other.
Yet Denmark had the year before by Hannibal
Zested, who went ambassador into France and made
England his way, made many complaints to the
king " of the oppression the crown of Denmark un-
" derwent by the Dutch, and the resolution it had
" to shake off that yoke as soon as an opportunity
" should be offered ;" and made a request to the king,
" that he would endeavour to make the alliance so
" fast between Denmark and Sweden, that the jea-
" lousy of each other might hinder neither of them
" from doing any thing that was for their own in-
" terest, without prejudice to the other." And when
the difficulty was alleged, in regard that Sweden
would never be persuaded to part with Elsineur,
and those other places which had been given up in
the late treaty; Hannibal Zested consented that
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 317
what was done in that treaty should be again con- ] 665.
firmed, and said " his master was willing and desir-
" ous that the king of England should undertake
" and be caution for the observation of this treaty ;"
implying, " that if this were done, and thereby the
" fear of any further attempt from Sweden were ex-
" tingufshed, Denmark would not be long without
" redeeming itself from the vexation which it en-
" dured from Holland, which, upon former neces-
" sities and ill bargains, upon the matter had an ex-
" emption from paying all duties upon their own
" great trade through the Sound, as much to the
" prejudice of all other princes as of the poor crown
" of Denmark." This having so lately passed from
a minister of that crown, the king thought it a good
time to endeavour to do that office between the two
crowns, and thereby to unite them both to the king
in this conjunction against the Dutch ; at least that
they might both remain good friends to his majesty,
and supply him with all those provisions without
which his navy could not be supported, and as far
as was possible restrain the Dutch from those sup-
plies, by making such large contracts with the Eng-
lish, that there would not be enough left for the
other.
Upon this ground he sent Mr. Henry Coventry of Ambassa-
his bedchamber to the Swede, whose friendship he Denmark
much more valued as more able to assist him, and ^ Swe"
upon whose word he could more firmly depend.
And to Denmark he sent sir Gilbert Talbot, who
was acceptable to that crown by his having per-
formed many offices of respect to the prince of Den-
mark, when he had been incognito in England,
318 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. and waited upon himf to several parts of the king-
~ dom which he had a mind to see, and so caused him
to be entertained in several gentlemen's houses in
his journey, of which the prince seemed very sensi-
ble when he departed. That which was expected
from that negotiation, except the confidence could
be created between the two crowns, was only to
preserve Denmark a friend, that he might not fa-
vour the Dutch, and might recall all his subjects out
of their service ; and that we might have the same
freedom of trade, and the security of his ports for
our men of war.
Proposals Whilst the king took this care for the advance-
bishop of ment of his affairs abroad, there was an advantage
offered him, that looked as if it came from Heaven.
rfutTif the There came one day a gentleman, who looked rather
like a carter, who spoke ill English, and desired that
he might have a private audience with the chancel-
lor ; who presently sent for him, and in a short time
knew him to be a Benedictine monk, who had been
sometimes with him at Cologne, and belonged to the
English abbey at Lamspring in Westphalia, where a
very reverend person of the family of Gascoigne in
Yorkshire was abbot, with whom the chancellor had
much acquaintance, and esteemed him very much ;
and he had, during the time the king stayed in Co-
logne, sent this monk several times thither, who was
likewise a gentleman, but by living long in Germany
had almost forgot the language as well as the man-
ners of his own country. His business now was to
deliver him a letter (whereof he knew little of the
contents) from the bishop of Munster, upon the
{ him] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 319
edge of whose dominions that English abbey was 1665.
seated, which had likewise a territory that extended
to the principality of the other, and received much
favour and protection from the other ; who desired
the abbot to give him an honest man, that would
carry a letter from him to the court of England :
upon which this monk was deputed, the rather be-
cause he was known to the chancellor. The matter
of the letter was no more, than " that if the war
" against Holland was to be resolutely prosecuted
" by the king of England, he (the bishop) conceived
" that a conjunction with those allies, who could
" infest the Dutch by land as his majesty would do
" by sea, might not be unacceptable to his majesty ;
" and in that case, upon the answer to this letter,
" he would send a fit person to make some proposi-
" tions to the king and to treat with him." The
instructions the monk had, were " to make all pos-
" sible haste back, and that as soon as he returned
" on that side the sea, he should send the answer he
•** had received, by the post, so directed as was ap-
" pointed ; and then that himself should stay at
" Brussels till he received further orders."
The chancellor quickly informed the king of this
despatch, to whom the monk was likewise known ;
and his majesty immediately assembled those lords
with whom he consulted in the most secret cases.
Every body knew so much of the bishop of Mun-
ster, that he was a warlike prince, having had
command in armies before he dedicated himself to
the church, and that he had a great animosity
against Holland, which had disobliged him in the
highest point, by encouraging his subjects to rebel
against him, and those of his city of M unster to
320 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. shut their gates against him: and when he endea-
~ voured to reduce them by force, and to that purpose
had besieged them with his army, the Dutch sent an
army to relieve it, and declared that they would
protect that city. And by this means, and by the
mediation of the neighbour princes, who had no
mind that the peace of their country should be
disturbed by such an incursion, the bishop was hin-
dered from taking that vengeance upon his rebel
subjects which he intended, and compelled to ac-
cept of such conditions as did not please him. And
all this was but two years before, and boiled still in
his breast, that was naturally very hot. But he was
a poor prince, unable to give any disturbance to the
United Provinces, whose dominions extended within
a day's march of his. However, every man was of
opinion, that the proposition ought to be very kindly
received, and the bishop invited to send his agent.
And to that purpose the chancellor wrote to him,
and the monk was despatched the next day. And
having observed his orders in sending away the an-
swer, he was very few days at Brussels, when a ser-
vant of the bishop arrived with orders that the
monk should accompany him back into England :
and so they both arrived in London in less time than
could be expected.
The gentleman who came from the bishop was a
very proper man, well-bred, a baron of that country,
but a subject to the bishop : he brought with him a
letter of credit from the bishop to the king, and full
authority to treat and conclude according to his in-
structions, which he likewise presented to his ma-
jesty. He brought likewise a letter to the chancel-
lor from the elector of Mentz, in which he recom-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 321
mended to him the person whom the bishop of Mun- 1GC5.
ster should send, and declared " that he believed"
" the bishop of Munster would be able to perform
" whatsoever he should undertake :" which letter
was a very great encouragement to the king: for
his majesty knew the elector of Mentz very well to
be a very wise prince and notoriously his friend, and
that he would not say so much of the ability of the
bishop to perform, except he knew particularly his
design, and what he would undertake to do.
The baron's instructions were to propose, " that
" his majesty would cause one hundred thousand
" pounds to be immediately paid, by bills of ex-
" change at Hamburgh or Cologne or Francfort, to
" such persons as the bishop should appoint to re-
" ceive it ; and should promise to pay fifty thou-
" sand pounds by the month in the same places
" for three months to come : afterwards he hoped
" the army would provide for its own support. This
" being undertaken on his majesty's part, the bishop
" would be engaged, within one month after the
" first bills of exchange for the one hundred thousand
" pounds should be delivered into the hands of his
" agent the baron, that he would be in the dominions
" of the States General with an army of sixteen
" thousand foot and four thousand horse ; with
" which he was very confident he should within few
"days be possessed of Arnheim, and shortly after
" of Utrecht : and if the king's fleet came before
" Amsterdam, that army of the bishop should march
" to what place or quarter his majesty should
" direct."
The baron was asked, " how it could be possible
" for the bishop, though a gallant prince and very
VOL. II. Y
CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " active, to draw together such an army in so short
" a time out of his small province ; and how he was
" sure that his neighbours, who two years before
" had compelled him to make so disadvantageous a
" peace with the Dutch, would not again use the
" same violent importunity to obstruct his proceed-
" ings." To which he answered, " that the bishop
" would never undertake to bring such an army to-
" gether in so short a time, in which they could not
" be levied, but that he knows they are already le-
" vied, and upon an assurance of money can be
" brought together in the short time proposed : for
" the other, the interposition of his neighbours, he
" had not then, when they prevailed, half that army
" which he was sure he should now have ; besides,
" those neighbours were now as much incensed
" against the Dutch as his master was, and would
" all engage with him against them ; and that
" many of the army that is designed were at
" present quartered in their dominions ; and that
" the bishop intended not to march in his own pri-
" vate capacity, but as general of the empire, for
" which the elector of Mentz had undertaken to
" procure him a commission." He was demanded
" how his master stood with France, and whether
" he did not fear that it would either prevent the
" enterprise by mediation, or disappoint it by send-
" ing aid to Holland." He answered, " his mas-
" ter was confident France would not do him any
" harm : that he had sent an agent, from whom he
" should be sure to receive letters by every post."
And within few days after, he shewed a letter that
he had received from that agent, in which he said,
" that Monsieur de Lionne bade him assure the bi-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 323
" shop, that his Christian majesty would do nothing 1665.
" to his prejudice."
This being the state of that affair, the king consi-
dered what he was to do. The propositions made
by the bishop were such, as it was not possible for
him to comply with. But then it was presumed by
every body, that very much would be abated of the
money that was demanded : for it was not an aux-
iliary army that was to be raised for the king's ser-
vice, whose conquests were to be applied to his be-
nefit, but an army raised to revenge the injuries
which himself had received, and what he should get
must be to his own account ; and his majesty's hos-
tility at sea would as much facilitate his enterprise
at land, as the marching of his army might probably
disturb and distract their preparations for the sea.
Yet it could not be expected, that the bishop could
draw this army together (and the attempt was not
to be made with less force) without a good supply
of money, nor keep it together without pay.
The advantage, that would with God's blessing
attend this conjunction, spread itself to a very large
prospect. That the people generally in the pro-
vinces were very unsatisfied with this war, was a
thing notorious ; and that the province of Holland
which began it, and was entirely governed by De
Wit, did even compel the other provinces to concur
with them, partly upon hope that a further progress
would be prevented by treaty, or that a peace would
follow upon the first engagement. But when they
should see an army of twenty thousand men, which
they suspected not, to invade their country at land,
and in that part where they were most secure, and
from whence so much of their necessary provisions
Y 2
CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. were daily brought; they must be in great conster-
~~ nation, and draw all their land army together,
which they had not done in near twenty years, and
could not be done to any effect without vast charge,
which would put the people into a loud distraction.
Finally, there was great reason to cherish the de-
sign : and therefore the king resolved by an unani-
mous advice to undertake any thing towards it, that
could be in his power to perform.
There was one difficulty occurred, that had not
been thought of nor so much as apprehended by the
baron, which was the return of the money, whatso-
ever should be assigned to that service ; for of the
three places proposed by him, besides the secrecy
that was requisite, all the trade of London could not
assign one thousand pounds in the month to be paid
upon Cologne and Francfort ; nor could Hamburgh
itself be charged with twenty thousand pounds in
three months' time : which when the agent knew,
he seemed amazed, and said, " they had believed
" that it had been as easy to have transmitted
" money to those three towns, as it was for them
" to receive it from thence."
In conclusion, the king gave his answer in
writing, what sum of money he would cause to be
paid at once for the first advance, that the bishop
might begin his march, and what he would after-
wards cause to be paid by the month ; which being
less than the baron's instructions would admit him
to accept, he sent an express with it to the bishop :
and " till his return," he desired, " that the king
" would appoint some person of experience to confer
** with him ; and they might together inform them-
" selves of the best expedients to return money into
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 325
" Germany, since his majesty had hitherto only un- 1 665.
" dertaken to pay his assignations in London." ~
What success this treaty afterwards had will be re-
lated in its place.
These advantages from abroad being in this man-
ner deliberated and designed, it may be very season-
able to look back, and consider what preparations
were made at home towards the carrying on f this
war, for which the parliament had provided so boun-
tifully : and if ordinary prudence had been applied
to the managery, if any order and method had been
consulted and steadily pursued for the conducting
the whole, the success would have been answerable,
and at least any inconvenience from the sudden
want of money would have been prevented. But
whoever was at any near % distance in that time
when those transactions were in agitation, as there
are yet many worthy men who were, or shall be
able to procure a sincere information of the occur-
rences of that time, will be obliged to confess, that
they who contrived the war had the entire conduct-
ing it, and were the sole causes of all the ill effects
of it ; which cannot be set down particularly with-
out wounding those, who were by their confidence
in ill instruments made accessary to those mischiefs,
in which themselves suffered most. Nor is it the
end of this true relation to fix a brand upon- the me-
mory of those, who deserve it from the public and
from very many worthy men, but is to serve only
for a memorial to cast my own eyes upon, when I
cannot but reflect upon those proceedings ; and by
my consent shall never come into any hands but
1 on] Omitted in MS. f- near] Not in MS.
Y 3
326 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. theirs, who for their own sakes will take care to
"preserve it from any public view or perusal.
The state It cannot be denied and may very truly be aver-
red, that from the hour of the king's return, and
being possessed of the entire government, the na-
val affairs were never put into any order. That
province, being committed to the duke as lord high
admiral of England, was entirely h engrossed by his
servants, in truth by Mr. Coventry, who was newly
made his secretary, and who made use of his
other servants, who were better known to him, to
infuse into his highness the opinion, " that whoever
" presumed to meddle in any thing that related to
" the navy or the admiralty, invaded his jurisdiction,
" and would lessen him in the eyes of the people ;
" and that he ought to be jealous of such men, as of
" those who would undermine his greatness ; and
" that as he was superior to all men by being the
" king's brother, so being high admiral he was to
" render account to none but to the king, nor suffer
" any body else to interpose in any thing relating to
" it." Whereas in truth there is no officer of the
crown more subject to the council-board than the
admiral of England, who is to give an account of all
his actions and of every branch of his office con-
stantly to the board, and to receive their orders :
nor hath he the nomination of the captains of the
ships, till upon the presentation of their names he
receives their approbation, which is never denied.
Nor was there any counsellor who had ever sat at
the board in the last king's time, to whom this was
not as much known as any order of the table.
h entirely] so entirely
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 327
But there was no retrieving this authority, not 1665.
only from the influence Mr. Coventry, and they of ~
the family who adhered to him, had upon the duke,
but from the king's own inclination, who thought
that those officers, who immediately depended upon
himself and only upon himself, were more at his
devotion than they who were obliged to give an
account to any other superior. And from the time
that he came first into France, he had not been ac-
customed to any discourse more than to the under-
valuing the privy-council, as if it shadowed the king
too much, and usurped too much of his authority,
and too often superseded his own commands. And
the queen his mother had, upon these discourses,
always some instances of the authority which in
such a case the council had assumed against the
king's judgment ; the exception to which, according
to the relation which nobody could question, seemed
to be very reasonable. This kind of discourse, be-
ing the subject of every day, made so great impres-
sion that it could never be defaced, and made the
election and nomination of counsellors less consi-
dered, since they were to be no more advised with
afterwards than before.
Another argument, that used to be as frequently
insisted upon by the queen, and with more passion
and indignation, was of the little respect and reve-
rence that by the law or custom of England was
paid to the younger sons of the crown ; and though
there was nobody present in those conversations who
knew any thing of the law or custom in those cases,
yet all that was said was taken as granted. And
not only the duke but the king himself had a mar-
vellous prejudice to the nation in that part of good
Y 4
328 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. manners: and it was easily agreed, that the model
~" of France was in those and other cases much more
preferable, and which was afterwards observed in
too many.
This being then the state and temper of the royal
family when the king returned, which then consisted
of the duke of Gloucester, and two princesses more
than it now hath ; the very next morning after the
fleet came to Scheveling, the duke went on board
and took possession of it as lord high admiral : and
so his secretary provided new commissions for all
the officers who were in present command, for which
it is probable they all paid very liberally ; for with
him the custom began to receive five pounds for
every warrant signed by the duke, and for which
uo secretary to any lord admiral formerly had ever
received above twenty shillings. Mr. Coventry, who
was utterly unacquainted with all the rules and cus-
toms of the sea, and knew none of the officers, but
was much courted by all, as the secretary to the
admiral always is, made choice of captain Pen,
whom the king knighted as soon as he came on
board ; who from a common man had grown up un-
der Cromwell to the highest command, and was in
great favour with him till he failed in the action of
St. Domingo, when he went admiral at sea, as Ven-
ables was general at land, for which they were both
imprisoned in the Tower by Cromwell, nor ever em-
ployed by him afterwards : but upon his death he
had command again at sea, as he had at this time
under Mountague when he came to attend the king.
With this man Mr. Coventry made a fast friendship,
and was guided by him in all things.
All the offices which belonged to the ships, to the
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 329
navy,' to the yards, to the whole admiralty, (except 1665.
the three superior officers, which are not in the dis-~
posal of the admiral,) were now void, and to be
supplied by the duke, that is, by Mr. Coventry;
who by the advice of sir William Pen, who was
solely trusted by him in the brocage, conferred them
upon those (without observing any other rule) who
would give most money, not i considering any honest
seaman who had continued in the king's service, or
suffered long imprisonment for him. And because
an incredible sum of money didk and would rise
this way, some principal officers in the yards, as the
master smith and others, and the keepers of the
stores, yielding seven, eight hundred, or a thousand
pounds ; he had the skill to move the duke to be-
stow such money as would arise upon such place
upon sir Charles Berkley, for another to another, and
for some to be divided between two or three : by
which means the whole family was obliged, and re-
tained to justify him ; and the duke himself looked
upon it as a generosity in Mr. Coventry, to accom-
modate his fellow servants with what he might have
asked or kept for himself. But it was the best hus-
bandry he could have used : for by this means all
men's mouths were stopped, and all- clamour se-
cured ; whilst the lesser sums for a multitude of
offices of all kinds were reserved to himself, and
which, in the estimation of those who were at no
great distance, amounted to a very great1 sum, and
more than any officer under the king could possibly
get by all the perquisites of his place in many years.
By this means,- the whole navy and ships were
' not] nor k did] was ' great] Omitted in MS.
330 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. filled with the same men who had enjoyed the same
"~ places and offices under Cromwell, and thereby were
the better able to pay well for them ; whereof many
of the most infamous persons which that time took
notice of were now become the king's officers, to
the great scandal of their honest neighbours, who
observed that they retained the same manners and
affections, and used the same discourses they had
formerly done.
Besides many other irreparable inconveniences
and mischiefs which resulted from this corruption
and choice, one grew quickly visible and notorious,
in the stealing and embezzling all manner of things
out of the ships, even when they were in service :
but when they returned from any voyages, incredible
proportions of powder, match, cordage, sails, anchors,
and all other things, instead of being restored to the
several proper officers whiclr were to receive them,
were embezzled and sold, and very often sold to the
king himself for the setting out other ships and for
replenishing his stores. And when this was disco-
vered (as many times it was) and the criminal per-
son apprehended, it was alleged by him as a defence
or excuse, " that he had paid so dear for his place,
" that he could not maintain himself and family
" without practising such shifts :" and none of those
fellows were ever brought to exemplary justice, and
most of them were restored to their employments.
The three superior officers of the navy were pos-
sessed of their offices by patents under the great
seal of England before the king's return ; and they
are the natural established council of the lord high
admiral, and are to attend him when he requires it,
and always used of course to be with him one cer-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 331
tain day in a week, to render him an account of all 1665.
the state of the office, and to receive his orders and ~
to give their advice. And now, because these three
depended not enough upon him, but especially out
of animosity against sir George Carteret, who, be-
sides being treasurer of the navy, was vice-cham-
berlain of the king's household, and so a privy
counsellor; Mr. Coventry proposed to the duke,
" that in regard of the multiplicity of business in
" the navy, much more than in former times, and the
" setting out greater fleets than had been accus-
" tomed in that age when those officers and that
" model for the government of the navy had been
" established, his royal highness would propose to
" the king to make an addition, by commissioners,
" of some other persons always to sit with the other
" officers with equal authority, and to sign all bills with
" them ;" which was a thing never heard of before,
and is in truth a lessening of the power of the admiral.
It is very true, there have frequently been commis-
sioners for the navy ; but it hath been in the same
place m of the admiral and to perform his office : but
in the time of an admiral commissioners have not
been heard of. One principal end in this was, to
draw from the treasurer of the navy (whose office
Mr. Coventry thought too great, and had implacable
animosity against him from the first hour after he
had made his friendship with Pen) out of his fees
(which, though no greater than were granted by his
patent and had been always enjoyed by his pre-
decessors, were indeed greater than had used to be
in times of peace, when much less money passed
m place] Not in MS.
332 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. through his hands) what should be enough to pay
those commissioners ; for it was not reasonable they
should serve for nothing, nor that they should be
upon the king's charge, since the treasurer's perqui-
sites might be enough for all.
The duke liked the proposition well, and, with-
out conferring with any body else upon it, proposed
it to the king at the council-board, where nobody
thought fit to examine or debate what the duke pro-
posed ; and the king approved it, and ordered, " that
" the commissioners should receive each five hun-
" dred pounds by the year :" but finding afterwards
that the treasurer of the navy's fees were granted
to him under the great seal, his majesty did not
think it just to take it from him, but would bear it
himself, and appointed the treasurer to pay and pass
those pensions in his account. The commissioners
named and commended by the duke to the king
were the lord Berkley, sir John Lawson, sir William
Pen, and sir George Ayscue ; the three last n the
most eminent sea-officers under Cromwell, but it
must not be denied but that they served the king
afterwards very faithfully. These the king made
his commissioners, with a pension to each of five
hundred pounds the year, and in some time after
added Mr. Coventry to the number with the same
pension : so that this first reformation in the time
of peace cost the king one way or other no less
than three thousand pounds yearly, without the
le,ast visible benefit or advantage. The lord Berkley
understood nothing that related either ° to the office
or employment, and therefore very seldom was pre-
" last] Not in MS. lated either] neither understood
" understood nothing that re- any thing that related
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 333
sent in the execution. But after he had enjoyed 1665.
the pension a year or thereabout, he procured leave"
to sell? his place, and procured a gentleman, Mr.
Thomas Harvey, to give him three thousand pounds
for it : so soon this temporary commission, which
might have expired within a month, got the reputa-
tion of an office for life by the good managery of an
officer.
This was the state of the navy before the war The state of
. i .
with Holland was resolved upon. Let us in the the "oZ.*
next place see what alterations were made in it, or
what other preparations were made, or counsels en-
tered upon, for the better conduct of this war : and
a clear and impartial view or reflection upon what
was then said and done, gave discerning men an un-
happy presage of what would follow. There was no
discourse now in the court, after this royal subsidy
of five and twenty hundred thousand pounds was
granted, but, " of giving the law to the whole trade
" of Christendom ; of making all ships which passed
" by or through the narrow seas to pay an imposi-
" tion to the king, as all do to the king of Denmark
" who pass by the Sound ; and making all who pass
" near to pay contribution to his majesty ;" which
must concern all the princes of Christendom : and
the king and duke were often desired to discounte-
nance and suppress this impertinent talk, which
must increase the number of the enemies. Commis-
sioners were appointed to reside in all or the most
eminent port-towns, for the sale of all prize-goods ;
and these were. chosen for the most part out of those
P sell] sell in
334 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. members of the house of commons, who were active
~ to advance the king's service, or who promised to
be so, to whom liberal salaries were assigned.
There were then commissioners appointed to
appeals ap. judge all appeals, which should be made upon and
pointed. agamst all sentences given by the judge of the ad-
miralty and his deputies ; and these were all privy
counsellors, the earl of Lautherdale, the lord Ash-
ley, and the secretaries of state, who were like to
The injus- be most careful of the king's profit. But then the
tice of their
sentences, rules which were prescribed to judge by were such
as were warranted r by no former precedents, nor s
acknowledged to be just by the practice of any
neighbour nation, and such as would make all ships
which traded for Holland, from what kingdom so-
ever, lawful prize ; which was foreseen would bring
complaints from all places, as it did as soon as the
war begun. French and Spaniard and Swede and
Dane were alike treated; whilst their ambassadors
made loud complaints every day to the king and
the council for the injustice and the rapine, without
remedy, more than references to the admiralty, and
then to the lords commissioners of appeal, which in-
creased the charge, and raised and improved the
indignity. Above all, the Hanse -Towns of Ham-
burgh, Lubeck, Bremen, and the rest, (who had
large exemptions and privileges by charter granted
by former kings and now renewed by this,) had the
worst luck ; for none of them could ever be distin-
guished from the Dutch. Their ships were so like,
and their language so near, that not one of their
r warranted] Omitted in MS. ? nor] and
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 335
vessels were met with, from what part of the world 1665.
soever they came, or whithersoever they weret —
bound, but they were brought in u ; and if the evi-
dence was such as there could be no colour to retain
them, but that they must be released, they always
carried with them sad remembrances of the com-
pany they had been in.
There was one sure rule to make any ship prize,
which was, if above three Dutch mariners were
aboard it there need no x further proof for the for-
feiture ; which being no where known could not be
prevented, all merchants' ships, when they are ready
for their voyage, taking all seamen on board of what
nation soever who are necessary for their service :
so that those Dutchmen who run from their own
country to avoid fighting, (as very many did, and
very many more would have done,) and put them-
selves on board merchants' ships of any other coun-
try, where they were willingly entertained, made
those ships lawful prize in which they served, by a
rule that nobody knew nor would submit to.
It was resolved that all possible encouragement TOO much
should be given to privateers, that is, to as many ^"g^i
as would take commissions from the admiral to set *0 pnva"
iccrs.
out vessels of war, as they call them, to take prizes
from the enemy ; which no articles or obligations
can restrain from all the villany they can act, and
are a people, how countenanced soever or thought
necessary, that do bring an unavoidable scandal, and
it is to be feared a curse, upon the justest war that
was ever made at sea. A sail ! A sail ! is the word
with them ; friend or foe is the same ; they possess
1 were] Omitted in MS. * no] Omitted in MS.
» in] Not in MS.
336 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. all they can master, and run with it to any obscure
"place where they can sell it, (which retreats are
never wanting,) and never attend the ceremony of
an adjudication. Besides the horrible scandal and
clamour that this classis of men brought upon the
king and the whole government for defect of justice,
the prejudice which resulted from thence to the
public and to the carrying on the service is unspeak-
able: all seamen run to them. And though the
king now assigned an ample share of all prizes
taken by his own ships to the seamen, over and
above their wages ; yet there was great difference
between the condition of the one and the other : in
the king's fleet they might gain well, but they were
sure of blows, nothing could be got there without
fighting ; with the privateers there was rarely fight-
ing, they took all who could make little resistance,
and fled from all who were too strong for them.
And so those fellows were always well manned,
when the king's ships were compelled to stay many
days for want of men, who were raised by press-
ing and with great difficulty. And whoever spake
against those lewd people, upon any case whatso-
ever, was thought to have no regard for the duke's
profit, nor to desire to weaken the enemy.
In all former wars at sea, as there was great care
taken to appoint commissioners for the sale of all
prize-goods, who understood the value of those com-
modities they had to sell, yet were compelled to sell
better bargains than are usually got in public mar-
kets ; so there was all strictness used in bringing
all receivers to as punctual an account, as any other
of the king's receivers are bound to make, and to
compel them to pay in all the money they receive
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 337
into the exchequer, that it might be issued out to the 1665.
treasurer of the navy or to other officers for the""
expense of the war. And it had been a great argu-
ment in the first consultations upon this war, " that
" it would support itself; and that after one good ,
" fleet should be set out once to beat the Dutch,"
(for that was never thought worthy of a doubt,)
" the prizes, which would every day after be taken,
" would plentifully do all the rest ; besides the great
" sum that the Dutch would give to purchase their
" peace, and the yearly rent they would give for
" the liberty of fishing ;" with all which it was not
thought fit to allow them " to keep above such a
" number of ships of war, limited to so many ton and
" to so many guns ;" with many particulars of that
nature, which were carefully digested by those who
promoted the war. But now, after this supply given
by the parliament, there was no more danger of
want of money : and many discourses there were,
" that the prize-money might be better disposed in
" rebuilding the king's houses, and many other good
" uses which would occur ;" and the king forbore
to speak any more of appointing receivers and trea-
surers for that purpose, when all or most other offi-
cers, who were judged necessary for the service,
were already named ; and the lord treasurer, who
by his office should have the recommendation of
those officers to the king, had a list of men, who for
the reputation and experience they had were in his
judgment worthy to be trusted, to be presented to
the king when he should enter upon that subject.
But one evening a servant of the lord Ashley
ley obtains
came to the chancellor with a bill signed, and de- a grant aP-
sired in his master's name, " that it might be sealed hf
VOL. II. Z
338 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " that night." The bill was, " to make and consti-
surer of " tute the lord Ashley treasurer of all the money
prize- « ^at should be raised upon the sale of all prizes,
money.
" which were or should be taken in this present
" war, with power to make all such officers as should
" be necessary for the service ; and that he should
" account for all monies so received to the king him-
" self, and to no other person whatsoever, and pay
" and issue out all those monies which he should re-
" ceive, in such manner as his majesty should ap-
" point by warrant under his sign manual, and by no
" other warrant ; and that he should be free and ex-
" empt from accounting into the exchequer." When
the chancellor had seen the contents, he bade the
messenger tell his lord, " that he would speak with
" the king before he would seal that grant, and that
" he desired much to speak with himself."
The chan- The next morning he waited upon the king, and
monstrates informed him " of the bill that was brought to him,
seatihg this " and doubted that he had been surprised : that it
grant. « was not; oniy such an original as was without any
" precedent, but in itself in many particulars de-
" structive to his service and to the right of other
" men. That all receivers of any part of his re-
" venue were accountable in the exchequer, and
" could receive their discharge in no other place :
" and that if so great a receipt, as this was already,"
(for the fleet of wine and other ships already seized
were by a general computation valued at one hun-
dred thousand pounds,) " and as it evidently would
" be, should pass without the most formal account ;
" his majesty might be abominably cozened, nor
'" could it any other way be prevented- And in the
" next place, that this grant was not only deroga-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON, 339
" tory to the lord treasurer, but did really degrade 1665.
" him, there being another treasurer made more ab-
" solute than himself, and without dependence upon
" him." And therefore he besought his majesty,
" that he would reconsider the thing itself and hear
" it debated, at least that the treasurer might be
" first heard, without which it could not be done in
" justice :" to which he added, " that he would speak
" with the lord Ashley himself, and tell him how
" much he was to blame to affect such a province,
" which might bring great inconveniences upon his
" person and his estate."
He quickly found that the king had not been
surprised in what he had done, " which," he said,
" was absolutely in his own power to do ; and that
" it would bring prejudice only to himself, which he
" had sufficiently provided against." However, he
seemed willing to decline any thing that looked like
an affront to the treasurer, and therefore was con-
tent that the sealing it might be suspended till he
had further considered.
The lord Ashley came shortly to the chancellor,
and seemed " to take it unkindly that his patent
" was not sealed :" to which he answered, " that he
" had suspended the immediate sealing it for three
" reasons ; whereof one was, that he might first
" speak with the king, who he believed would re-
" ceive much prejudice by it ; another, that it would
" not consist with the respect he owed to the lord
" treasurer, who was much affronted in it, to seal it
" before he was made acquainted with it. And in
" the last place, that he had stopped it for his,
" the lord Ashley's, own sake : and that he believed
*' he had neither enough considered the indignity
z 2
1665. " that was offered to the lord treasurer, to whom he
~~ " professed so much respect, and by whose favour
" and powerful interposition he enjoyed the office he
" held, nor his own true interest, in submitting his
" estate to those incumbrances which such a receipt
" would inevitably expose it to. And that the ex-
" emption from making any account but to the king
" himself would deceive him : and as it was an un-
" usual and unnatural privilege, so it would never
" be allowed in any court of justice, which would
" exact both the account and the payment or lawful
" discharge of what money he should receive ; and
" " if he depended upon the exemption he would live
" to repent it."
He answered little to the particulars more than
with some sullenness, " that the king had given
" him the office, and knew best what is good for his
" own service ; and that except his majesty retracted
" his grant, he would look to enjoy the benefit of it.
" That he did not desire to put an affront upon the
" lord treasurer ; and if there were any expressions
" in his commission which reflected upon him, he
" was content they should be mended or left out :
" in all other respects he was resolved to run the
" hazard."
The treasurer himself, though he knew that he
was not well used, and exceedingly disdained the
behaviour of his nephew, (for the lord Ashley had
married his niece,) who he well knew had by new
friendships cancelled all the obligations to him, would
not appear to oppose what the king resolved, but sat
The king unconcerned, and took no notice of any thing. And
obliges him . , . . .
to seal it. so within a short time the king sent a positive order
to the chancellor to seal the commission ; which he
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 341
could no longer refuse, and did it with the more 1665.
trouble, because he very well knew, that few men ~
knew the lord Ashley better than the king himself
did, or had a worse opinion of his integrity. But
he was now gotten into friendships which were most
behooveful to him, and which could remove or re-
concile all prejudices : he was fast linked to sir Harry
Bennet and Mr. Coventry in a league offensive and
defensive, the same friends and the same enemies,
and had got "an entire trust with the lady, who very
well understood the benefit such an officer would be
to her. Nor was it difficult to persuade the king
(who thought himself more rich in having one thou-
sand pounds in his closet that nobody knew of, than
in fifty thousand pounds in his exchequer) how
many conveniences he would find in having so
much money at his own immediate disposal, with-
out the formality of privy seals and other men's
warrants, and the indecency and mischief which
would attend a formal account of all his generous
donatives and expense, which should be known only
to himself.
Though the king seemed to continue the same Measures
, . . taken to
gracious countenance towards the chancellor which prejudice
he had used, and frequently came to his house when ^ainsMhe
he was indisposed with the gout, and consulted all chancellor-
his business, which he thought of public importance,
with him with equal freedom ; yet he himself found,
and many others observed, that he had not the same
credit and power with him. The nightly meetings
had of late made him more' the subject of the dis-
course ; and since the time of the new secretary they
had taken more liberty to talk of what was done in
z 3
342 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. council, than they had done formerly ; and the duke
~~of Buckingham pleased himself and all the com-
pany in acting all the persons who spake there in
their looks and motions, in which piece of mimicry
he had an especial faculty ; and in this exercise the
chancellor had a full part. In the height of mirth,
if the king said " he would go such a journey or do
" such a trivial thing to-morrow," somebody would
lay a wager that he would not do it ; and when he
asked why, it was answered, " that the chancellor
" would not let him :" and then another would pro-
test, " that he thought there was no ground for that
" imputation ; however, he could not deny that it
" was generally believed abroad, that his majesty
" was entirely and implicitly governed by the chan-
" cellor." Which often put the king to declare in
some passion, " that the chancellor had served him
" long, and understood his business, in which he
" trusted him : but in any other matter than his
" business, he had no other credit with him than
" any other man ;" which they reported with great
joy in other companies.
A proposal jn the former session of the parliament, the lord
made to the
king for ]». Ashley, out of his indifferency in matters of religion,
conscience, and the lord Arlington out of his good-will to the
Roman catholics, had drawn in the lord privy seal,
whose interest was most in the presbyterians, to
propose to the king an indulgence for liberty of
conscience : for which they offered two motives ;
the one, " the probability of a war with the Dutch ;"
though it was not then declared ; " and in that case
" the prosecution of people at home for their several
" opinions in religion would be very inconvenient,
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 343
" and might prove mischievous." The other was, 1665.
" that the y fright men were in by reason of the "~
" late bill against conventicles, and the warmth the
" parliament expressed with reference to the church,
" had so prepared all sorts of non-conformists, that
" they would gladly compound for liberty at any
'* reasonable rates : and by this means a good yearly
" revenue might be raised to the king, and a firm
" concord and tranquillity be established in the
" kingdom, if power were granted by the parliament
" to the king to grant dispensations to such whom
" he knew to be peaceably affected, for their exer-
" cise of that religion which was agreeable to their
" conscience, without undergoing the penalty of the
" laws." And they had prepared a schedule, in
which they computed what every Roman catholic
would be willing to pay yearly for the exercise of
his religion, and so of every other sect ; which, upon
the estimate they made, would indeed have amounted
to a very great sum of money yearly.
The king liked the arguments and the project The king
very well, and wished them to prepare such a bill ; ap
which was done quickly, very short, and without
any mention of other advantage to grow from it,
than " the peace and quiet of the kingdom?, and an
" entire reference to the king's own judgment and
" discretion in dispensing his dispensations." This
was equally approved : and though hitherto it had
been managed with great secrecy, that it might not
come to the knowledge of the chancellor and the
treasurer, who they well knew would never consent
to it; yet the king resolved to impart it to them.
>' the] in the z kingdom] quiet by mistake in MS.
z 4
844 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. And the chancellor being then afflicted with the
""gout, the committee that used to be called was ap-
pointed to meet at Worcester-house : and thither
likewise came the privy seal, and the lord Ashley,
who had never before been present in those meet-
ings.
The chan- The king informed them of the occasion of their
treasure" conference, and caused the draught for the bill to
t*he private* ^e read to them ; which was done, and such reasons
committee. given by those who promoted it, as they thought
fit ; the chief of which was, " that there could be no
" danger in trusting the king, whose zeal to the
" protestant religion was so well known, that no-
" body would doubt that he would use this power,
" when granted to him, otherwise than should be
*' for the good and benefit of the church and state."
The chancellor and the treasurer, as had been pre-
saged, were very warm against it, and used many
arguments to dissuade the king from prosecuting it,
" as a thing that could never find the concurrence
" of either or both houses, and which would raise a
" jealousy in both, and in the people generally, of
" his affection to the papists, which would not be
" good for either, and every body knew that he had
" no favour for either of the other factions." But
what the others said, who were of another opinion,
prevailed more ; and his majesty declared, " that the
" bill should be presented to the house of peers as
" from him, and in his name ; and that he hoped
" none of his servants, who knew his mind as well
" as every body there did, would oppose it, but
"either be absent or silent:" to which both the
lords answered, " that they should not be absent
" purposely, and if they were present, they hoped
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 345
" his majesty would excuse them if they spake ac- 1665.
" cording to their conscience and judgment, which"
" they could not forbear to do ;" with which his
majesty seemed unsatisfied, though the lords of the '
combination were better pleased than they would
have been with their concurrence.
Within few days after, the chancellor remaining The biiiprc.
still in his chamber without being able to go, the the house of
bill was presented in the house of peers by the lordlords'
privy seal, as by the king's direction and approba-
tion, and thereupon had the first reading : and as
soon as it was read, the lord treasurer spake against
it, " as unfit to be received and to have the counte-The trea-
. . . surer and
" nance of another reading in the house, being a de- bishops op-
" sign against the protestant religion and in favour fheVrst1
" of the papists," with many sharp reflections upon readinS'
those who had spoken for it ; and many of the bi-
shops spake to the same purpose, and urged many
weighty arguments against it. However it was
moved, " that since it was averred that it was
" with the king's privity, it would be a thing un-
" heard of to deny it a second reading :" and that
there might be no danger of a surprisal by its being
read in a thin house, it was ordered " that it should
" be read the second time" upon a day named "at ten
" of the clock in the morning ;" with which all were
satisfied.
In the mean time great pains were taken to per-
suade particular men to approve it : and some of
the bishops were sharply reprehended for opposing
the king's prerogative, with some intimation " that
" if they continued in that obstinacy they would a
a vvonld] should
346 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. « repent it;" to which they made such answers as
in honesty and wisdom they ought to do, without
being shaken in their resolution. It was rather in-
sinuated than declared, " that the bill had been per-
" used," some said " drawn, by the chancellor," and
averred " that he was not against it :" which being
confidently reported, and believed or not believed as
he was more or less known to the persons present,
he thought himself obliged to make his own sense
known. And so on the day appointed for the se-
cond reading, with pain and difficulty he was in his
place in the house : and so after the second reading
The trea- of the bill, he was of course to propose the commit-
bL'hopTop- ment of it. Many of the bishops and others spake
fiercely against it, as a way to undermine religion ;
an(j ^he lord treasurer, with his usual weight of
words, shewed the ill consequence that must attend
it, and " that in the bottom it was a project to get
" money at the price of religion ; which he believed
" was not intended or known to the king, but only
" to those who had projected it, and, it may be, im-
" posed upon others who meant well."
The lord privy seal, either upon the observation
of the countenance of the house or advertisement of
his friends b, or unwilling to venture his reputation
in the enterprise, had given over the game the first
Lord Ash- day9 an(j nOw spake not at all : but the lord Ashley
ley speaks
for it. adhered firmly to his point, spake often and with
great sharpness of wit, and had a cadence in his
words and pronunciation that drew attention. He
said, " it was the king's misfortune that a matter of
" so great concernment to him, and such a preroga-
b friends} friend
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 347
" tive as it may be would be found to be inherent 1665.
" in him without any declaration of parliament,"
" should be supported only by such weak men as
." himself, who served his majesty at a distance,
" whilst the great officers of the crown thought fit
" to oppose it ; which he more wondered at, because
" nobody knew more than they the king's unshake-
" able firmness in his religion, that had resisted and
" vanquished so many great temptations ; and there-
" fore he could not be thought unworthy of a
" greater trust with reference to it, than he would
" have by this bill."
The chancellor, having not been present at theThechau-
former debate upon the first day, thought it fit tospeaks
sit silent in this, till he found the house in some ex- again
pectation to hear his opinion : and 'then he stood up
and said, " that no man could say more, if it were
" necessary or pertinent, of the king's .constancy in
" his religion, and of his understanding the constitu-
" tion and foundation of the church of England,
" than he ; no man had been witness to more as-
" saults which he had sustained than he had been,
" and of many victories ; and therefore, if the ques-
" tion were how far he might be trusted in that
" point, he should make no scruple in declaring,
" that he thought him more worthy to be trusted
'* than any man alive. But there was nothing in
" that bill that could make that the question, which
" had confounded all notions of religion, and erected
"a chaos of policy to overthrow all religion and go-
" vernment : so that the question was not, whether
" the king were worthy of that trust, but whether
" that trust were worthy of the king. That it had
" been no new thing for kings to divest themselves
348 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
» \
1665. " of many particular rights and powers, because
~~ " they were thereby exposed to more trouble and
" vexation, and so deputed that authority to others
" qualified by them c : and he thought it a very un-
" reasonable and unjust thing to commit such a
" trust to the king, which nobody could suppose he
" could execute himself, and yet must subject him
" to daily and hourly importunities, which must be
" so much the more uneasy to a nature of so great
" bounty and generosity, that nothing is so un-
" grateful to him as to be obliged to deny."
And drops In the vehemence of this debate, the lord Ashley
some un- •,••,-, in
guarded ex- having used some language that he knew reflected
upon him, the chancellor let fall some unwary ex-
pressions, which were turned to his reproach and re-
membered long after. When he insisted upon the
wildness and illimitedness in the bill, he said, "it
" was ship-money in religion, that nobody could
" know the end of, or where it would rest ; that if
" it were passed, Dr. Goffe or any other apostate
" from the church of England might be made a bi-
" shop or archbishop here, all oaths and statutes
" and subscriptions being dispensed with :" which
were thought two envious instances, and gave
his enemies opportunities to make glosses and re-
flections upon to his disadvantage. In this debate
it fell out that the duke of York appeared very
much against the bill ; which was imputed to the
chancellor, and served to " heap coals of fire upon
" his head." In the end, very few having spoken
for it, though there were many who would have
consented to it, besides the catholic lords, it was
c them] him
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 349
agreed that there should be no question put for the 1665.
commitment ; which was the most civil way of re- ~~
jecting it, and left it to be no more called for.
The king was infinitely troubled at the ill sue- The king
cess of this bill, which he had been assured would with the
pass notwithstanding the opposition that was ex-
pected ; and it had produced one effect that wasrer;
foreseen though not believed, in renewing the bit-
terness against the Roman catholics. And they,
who watched all occasions to perform those offices,
had now a large field to express their malice against
the chancellor and the treasurer, " whose pride only
" had disposed them to shew their power and credit
" in diverting the house from gratifying the king,
" to which they had been inclined ;" and his majesty
heard all that could be said against them without
any dislike. After two or three days he sent for
them both together into his closet, which made it
generally believed in the court, that he resolved to
take both their offices from them, and they did in
truth believe and expect it (1 : but there was never
any cause appeared after to think that it was in his
purpose. He spake to them of other business, with-
out taking the least notice of the other matter, and
dismissed them with a countenance less open than
he used to have towards them, and made it evident
that he had not the same thoughts of them he had
formerly.
And when the next day the chancellor went to
him alone, and was admitted into his cabinet, and
began to take notice " that he seemed to have dis-
" satisfaction in his looks towards him ;" the king, in
d it] Omitted in MS.
350 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. more choler thairhe had ever before seen him, told
~ him, " his looks were such as they ought to be ;
" that he was very much unsatisfied with him, and
" thought he had used him very ill ; that he had de-
" served better of him, and did not expect that he
" would have carried himself in that manner as he
" had done in the house of peers, having known his
" majesty's own opinion from himself, which it seem-
" ed was of no authority with him if it differed from
" his judgment, to which he would not submit
" against his reason."
The other, with the confidence of an honest man,
entered upon the discourse of the matter, assured
him " the very proposing it had done his majesty
" much prejudice, and that they who were best af-
" fected to his service in both houses were much
" troubled and afflicted with it : and of those who
" advised him to it, one knew nothing of the con-
" stitution of England, and was not thought to wish
" well to the religion of it ; and the other was so
" well known to him, that nothing was more won-
" derful than that his majesty should take him for a
" safe counsellor." He had recourse then again to the
matter, and used some arguments against it which
had not been urged before, and which seemed to
make impression. He heard all he said with pa-
tience, but seemed not to change his mind, and an-
swered ho more than " that it was no time to speak
" to the matter, which was now passed ; and if it
" had been unseasonably urged, he might still have
" carried himself otherwise than he had done ;" and
so spake of somewhat else.
His majesty did not withdraw any of his trust or
confidence from him in his business, and seemed to
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 351
have the same kindness for him : but from that time 1665.
he never had the same credit with him as he had ~
before. The lord Ashley got no ground, but sir
Harry Bennet very much, who, though he spake
very little in council, shewed his power out of it, by
persuading his majesty to recede from many resolu-
tions he had taken there. And afterwards, in all
the debates in council which were preparatory to
the war, and upon those particulars which have
been mentioned before, which concerned the justice
and policy that was to be observed, whatsoever was
offered by the chancellor or treasurer was never
considered. It was answer enough, " that they were
" enemies to the war;" which was true, as long as it
was in deliberation : but from the time it was re-
solved and remediless, none of them who promoted
it contributed any thing to the carrying it on pro-
portionably to what was done by the other two.
There was another and a greater mischief than And witu
hath been mentioned, that resulted from that un- shops.
happy debate ; .which was the prejudice and disad-
vantage that the bishops underwent by their so una-
nimous dislike of that bill. For from that time the
king never treated any of them with that respect as
he had done formerly, and often spake of them too
slightly ; which easily encouraged others not only
to mention their persons very negligently, but their
function and religion itself, as an invention to im-
pose upon the free judgments and understandings of
men. What was preached in the pulpit was com-
mented upon and derided in the chamber, and
preachers acted, and sermons vilified as laboured dis-
courses, which the preachers made only to shew
their own parts and wit, without any other design
352 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. than to be commended and preferred. These grew
to be the subjects of the mirth and wit of the court ;
and so much license was e manifested in it, that gave
infinite scandal to those who observed it, and to those
who received the reports of it : and all serious and
prudent men took it as an ill presage, that whilst all
warlike preparations were made in abundance suit-
able to the occasion, there should so little prepara-
tion of spirit be for a war against an enemy, who
might possibly be without some of our virtues, but
assuredly was without any of our vices.
The plague There begun now to appear another enemy, much
breaks out. '
more formidable than the Dutch, and more difficult
to be struggled with ; which was the plague, that
brake out in the winter, and made such an early
progress in the spring, that though the weekly num-
bers did not rise high, and it appeared to be only in
the outskirts of the town, and in the most obscure
alleys, amongst the poorest people ; yet the ancient
men, who well remembered in what manner the last
great plague (which had been near forty years be-
fore) first brake out, and the progress it afterwards
made, foretold a terrible summer. And many of
them removed their families out of the city to coun-
try habitations ; when their neighbours laughed at
their providence, and thought they might have
stayed without danger: but they found shortly that
they had done wisely. In March it spread so much,
that the parliament was very willing to part : which
was likewise the more necessary, in regard that so
many of the members of the house of commons were
assigned to so many offices and employments which
e was] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 353
related to the war, and which required their imme- I6G5.
diate attendance. For though the fleet was not y£t ~"
gone out, yet there were many prizes daily brought
in, besides the first seizure, which by this time was
adjudgedd lawful prize; in all which great loss was
sustained by the license of officers as well as com-
mon men, and the absence of such as should restrain
and punish it : so that, as soon as the bill was passed
the houses for the good aid they had given the king,
and was ready for the royal assent, his majesty
passed it, and prorogued the parliament in April The parii
(which was in I665e) till September following; his ™l"Ji.ro~
majesty declaring, " that if it pleased God to extin-
" guish or allay the fierceness of the plague," which
at that time raged more, " he should be glad to meet
" them then ; by which time they would judge by
" some success of the war, what was more to be
" done. But if that visitation increased, they should
" have notice by proclamation that they might not
" hazard themselves."
The parliament being thus prorogued, there was The fleet
the same reason to hasten out the fleet; towards prepar
which the duke left nothing undone, which his un-
wearied industry and example could contribute to-
wards it f, being himself on board, and having got
all things necessary into his own ship that he cared
for. But he found that it was absolutely requisite
to put out to sea, though many things were wanting
in other ships, even of beer and other provision of
victual; not only to be before the enemy, but be-
cause % he saw it would be impossible, whilst the
ships were in port, to keep the seamen from going
d adjudged] adjusted f it] Omitted in MS.
* 1665] by error in MS. 55. B because] Omitted in MS.
VOL. II. A. a
354 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 665. on shore, by which they might bring the plague on
~~ bgard with them ; and there was already a suspicion
that the infection was got into one of the smaller
ships.
It hath been said before, that all things relating
to the fleet were upon the matter wholly governed
The duke by Mr. Coventry. It is very true, that the officers
ch of the navy constantly attended the duke together
those three sea-captains who have been named
before : \)U^ from the time that the war was declared,
his highness consulted daily, for his own informa-
tion and instruction, with sir John Lawson and sir
George Ayscue and sir William Pen, all men of
great experience, and who had commanded in seve-
ral battles. Upon the advice of these men the duke
always made his estimates and all propositions to
the king. There was somewhat of rivalship between
the two last, because they had been in equal com-
mand : therefore the duke took sir William Pen
into his own ship, and made him captain of it ;
which was a great trust, and a very honourable com-
mand, that exempted him from receiving any or-
ders but from the duke, and so extinguished the
other emulation, the other two being flag-officers
and to command several squadrons.
In all conferences with these men Mr. Coventry's
presence and attendance was necessary, both to re-
duce all things into writing which were agreed upon,
and to be able to put the duke in mind of what he
was to do. Lawson was the man of whose judg-
ment the duke had the best esteem; and he was
in truth, of a man of that breeding, (for he was a
perfect tarpawlin,) a very extraordinary person ;
he understood his profession incomparably well,
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 355
spake clearly and pertinently, but not pertinaciously 1CG5.
enough when he was contradicted. Ayscue was a
gentleman, but had kept ill company too long, which
had blunted his understanding, if it had been ever
sharp : he was of few words, yet spake to the pur-
pose and to be easily understood. Pen, who had
much the worst understanding, had a great mind to
appear better bred, and to speak like a gentleman ;
he had got many good words, which he used at ad-
venture ; he was a formal man, and spake very lei-
surely but much, and left the matter more intricate
and perplexed than he found it. He was entirely
governed by Mr/Coventry, who still learned enough
of him to offer any thing rationally in the debate, or
to cross what was not agreeable to his own fancy,
by which he was still swayed out of the pride and
perverseness of his will.
Upon debate and conference with these men, the
duke brought propositions to the king reduced into
writing by Mr. Coventry ; and the king commonly
consulted them with the lord treasurer in his h pre-
sence, the propositions being commonly for increase
of the expense, which Mr. Coventry was solicitous
by all the ways possible to contrive. To those con-
sultations the duke always brought the sea-officers,
and Mr. Coventry, who spake much more than they,
to explain especially what sir William Pen said, who
took upon himself to speak most, and often what
the others had never thought though they durst not
contradict ; and sir John Lawson often complained,
" that Mr. Coventry put that in writing which had
" never been proposed by them, and would continue
h his] the
A a 2
356 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " disputing it till they yielded." Every conference
~~ raised the charge very much ; and what they pro-
posed yesterday as enough was to-day made twice as
much ; if they proposed six fire-ships to be provided,
within two or three days they demanded twelve :
so there could be no possible computation of the
charge.
The duke By this means the fleet that was now ready to
LI. ° ° put to sea amounted to fourscore sail ; and the king
willingly consented, upon the reasons the duke pre-
sented to him, that they should set sail as soon as
was possible. And before the end of April the duke
was with the whole fleet at sea, and visited the coast
of Holland, and took many ships in their view, their
Many no- fleet being not yet in readiness. Many noblemen,
blemen go IO-T-* i i -i • T^
as voiun- the earl of Peterborough, the lord viscount Ferrers,
and others, with many gentlemen of quality, went
as volunteers, and were distributed into the several
ships with much countenance by the duke, and as
many taken into his own ship as could be done with
convenience.
The duke of Buckingham had from the first men-
tion of the war, which he promoted all he could, de-
clared " that he would make one in it :" and when it
was declared, he desired to have the command of a
ship, which the duke positively denied to give him,
except the king commanded it, (and his majesty
was content to refer that, as he did the nomination
of all the other officers, to his brother,) and did not
think fit that a man, of what quality soever, who
had never been at sea, should his first voyage have
the command of any considerable ship, (and a small
one had not been for his honour ;) at which he was
much troubled. Yet his friends told him that he
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 357
was too far engaged, to stay at home when his royal 1 665.
highness ventured his own person : and thereupon ~
he resolved to go a volunteer, and put himself on
board a flag-ship, the captain whereof was in his fa-
vour. And then he desired, " that in respect of his
" quality, and his being a privy counsellor, he might
" be present in all councils of war." The duke
thought this not reasonable, and would not make a
new precedent. There were many of the ancient
nobility, earls and barons, who were then on board
as volunteers ; and if the consideration of quality
might entitle them to be present in council, all or-
ders would be broken, there being none called but
flag-officers : and therefore his royal highness posi-
tively refused to gratify him in that point ; which
the duke of Buckingham thought (it being enough
known that the duke had neither esteem or kind-
ness for him) to be such a personal disobligation, that
would well excuse him for declining the enterprise.
And pretending that he did appeal to the king in
point of light, he left the fleet, and returned to the
shore to complain. And we return back too to the
view of other particulars.
There were two persons, whom the king and his Some new
brother did desire to make remarkable by somepe
extraordinary favours : one of which was equally
grateful to both, sir Charles Berkley, who had been sir Charles
lately created an Irish viscount by the name of lord
Fitzharding, the old and true surname of the fa-
mily; upon whom the king had, for reasons only
known to himself, set his affection so much, that he
had never denied any thing he asked for himself or
for any body else, and was well content that he
should be looked upon as his favourite. He had
A a 3
358 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. been long thought so to the duke, who was willing
~~ to promote any thing to his advantage : and the
king had deferred those instances only till the par-
liament should be prorogued, lest it should raise the
appetites of others to make suits, which he had hi-
therto defended himself from, by declaring he would
make no more lords. But the parliament was no
sooner prorogued, than it was resolved to be put in
execution : and when it was to be done, the chan-
cellor had the honour to be present alone with the
king and duke, when it seemed to be first thought
of. And when the duke proposed it as a suit to the
king, that he would make the lord Fitzharding an
earl, extolling his courage and affection to the king ;
he » was pleased with the motion to that degree, that
he extolled him with praises which could be applied
to few men : and it was quickly resolved that he
should be an earl of England, and a title was as soon
found out ; and so he was created earl of Falmouth,
before he had one foot of land in the world.
And to gratify the king for this favour, the duke
likewise proposed that the king would make sir
And sir H. Harry Bennet a lord, whom all the world knew he
Arlington! did not care for ; which was as willingly granted :
and he had no more estate than the other, and could
not so easily find a title for his barony. But be-
cause he had no mind to retain his own name, which
was no good one, his first warrant was to be created
Cheney, which was an ancient barony expired, and
to which family he had not the least relation : and
for some days upon the signing the warrant he was
called lord Cheney, until a gentleman of the best
1 he] who
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 359
quality in Buckinghamshire, who, though he had no 1665.
title to the barony, was yet of the same family, and~~
inherited most part of the estate, which was very
considerable, and was married to a daughter of the
duke of Newcastle, heard of it, and made haste to
stop it. He went first to sir Harry Bennet himself,
and desired him " not to affect a title to which he
" had no relation ; and to which though he could
" not pretend of direct right, yet he was not so k
" obscure but that himself or a son of his might
" hereafter be thought worthy of it by the crown ;
" and in that respect it would be some trouble to
" him to see it vested in the family of a stranger."
The secretary did not give him so civil an answer
as he expected, having no knowledge of the gentle-
man. Yet shortly after, upon information of his
condition and quality, (as he was in all respects very
worthy of consideration,) the patent being not yet
prepared, he was contented to take the title of a
little farm that had belonged to his father and was
sold by him, and now in .the possession of another
private person ; and so was created lord Arlington,
the proper and true name of the place being Har-
lington, a little* village between London and Ux~
bridge.
The king took the occasion to make these two Mr. Fre*.
noblemen from an obligation that lay upon him to created ior<i
confer two honours at the same time ; the one upon ^
Mr. Frescheville, of a very ancient family in Derby-
shire, and a fair estate, who had been always bred
in the court, a menial servant of the last king, and
had served him in the head of a troop of horse raised
k so] Not in MS.
A a 4
360 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. at his own charge^ in the war, and whom his late
~ majesty had promised to make a baron.
And Mr. The other was Mr. Richard Amndel of Trerice
in Cornwall, a gentleman as well known by what
el ne nad done and suffered in the late time, as by the
eminency of his family, and the fortune he was still
master of after the great depredation of the time.
John Arundel, his father, was of the best interest
and estate of the gentlemen of Cornwall: and in
the beginning of the troubles, when the lord Hopton
* tne otner gentlemen with him were forced to
i»>>y- retire into Cornwall, he and his friends supported
them, and gave the first turn and opposition to the
Current of the parliament's usurpation; and to them,
their courage and activity, all the success that the
lord Hopton had afterwards was justly to be im-
puted as to the first rise. The old gentleman was
then above seventy years of age, and infirm ; but all
his sons he engaged in the war : the two eldest
were eminent officers, both members of the house of
commons, and the more zealous soldiers by having
been witnesses of the naughty proceedings of those
who had raised the rebellion. The eldest was
killed in the head of his troop, charging and driving
back a bold sally that was made out of Plymouth
when it was besieged : and this other gentleman of
whom we now speak, and who was then the younger
brother, was an excellent colonel of foot to the end
of the war.
When sir Nicholas Slanning, who was governor of
Pendennis, lost his life bravely in the siege of Bris-
tol, the king knew not into what hands to commit
that important place so securely, as by sending a
commission to old John Arundel of Trerice to com-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 361
mand, well knowing that it must be preserved prin- 1 665.
cipally by his interest ; and in respect of his age ~
joined his eldest son with him : and after his death
he added the younger brother to the command, of
whom we are speaking, who was in truth then
looked upon as the most powerful person in that
county.
When the king, then prince, was compelled, after
almost the whole west was lost, to retire into Corn-
wall, he remained in Pendennis castle, and from
thence made his first embarkation to Scilly : and at
parting, out of a princely sense of the affection and
service of that family, he took the old gentleman
aside, and in the presence of his son wished him "to
" defend the place as long as he could, because re-
" lief might come, of which there was some hope
" from abroad;" and promised him, "if he lived to
" come back into England, he would make him a
" baron ; and if he were dead, he would make it
" good to his son." The old man behaved him
bravely to his death, having all his estate taken
from him ; and his son remained as eminently faith-
ful, and had as deep marks of it as any man : so
that at the king's return, who never forgat his pro-
mise, he might have received the effect of it in the
first creation, if he had desired it ; but he chose ra-
ther to recover the bruises his fortune had endured
by seizures and sequestrations, before he would em-
bark him in a condition that must presently raise
his expense in his way of living. And as soon as
he found himself at ease in that respect, he got a
friend to inform the king, " that he was ready to re-
" ceive his bounty."
And his majesty, being under these two obliga-
362 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. tions, was willing to take the same opportunity to
"prefer the two other persons he loved so well. But
at the same time that he declared his resolution for
the last two, (but what concerned the others had
been long known and expected,) his majesty re-
flected upon the number of the house of peers,
which was in many respects found grievous, and de-
clared to his brother and the chancellor, who were
only present, "that no importunity should prevail
" with him to make any more lords in many years,
" and till the present number should be lessened ;"
in which resolution the duke willingly concurred,
and protested " that he would never more importune
" him in that point." The reason of mentioning
this declaration and resolution will appear here-
after. This creation was no sooner over, than the
new earl of Falmouth went with the duke to sea :
for though his relation was now immediately to the
king and near his person, yet he thought himself
obliged not to be from the duke when he was to be
engaged in so much danger ; and he was confessed
by all men to abound in a most fearless cou-
rage.
A parti- It will not be unseasonable in this place to take a
of6 *~ view of an act of state that passed about this time,
pa- an(^ which afterwards administered matter of re-
tent, proach against the chancellor, and was made use of
by his enemies as an evidence of his corruption ; for
the better understanding whereof, it will be neces-
sary to begin the relation from the original ground
of the counsel. About the first Christmas after the
king's happy return into England, the chancellor,
treasurer, privy seal, and the two chief justices
(being the persons appointed by the statute for that
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 363
purpose) met together to set the prices upon the 1665.
several sorts of wines ; and were attended, according
to custom, by the company of vintners, and the
chief merchants in the city who traded in that com-
modity. And being first to limit the merchants to
a reasonable rate, before they could prescribe any
price to the vintners upon the retail, they found, by
the best inquiry they could make, that the first
prices beyond the seas which the merchants paid for
their wines were so excessive, that the retail could
not be brought within any compass ; and that since
the beginning of the troubles the price of wines in
general was exceedingly increased, and particularly
that of the Canaries was almost double to what it
had been in the year 1640.
The chancellor knew very well, by the corre-
spondence he had held in the Canaries, (during the
time that he had served his majesty as his ambas-
sador in Spain,) that the whole trade for the Canary
wine was driven solely by the English, and the com-
modity entirely vended in the king's dominions, all
Christendom beside not spending any quantity of
that wine : and thereupon he asked the merchants
" whether what he had reported was not true, and
" what would be the way to remedy that mis-
« chief."
They all confessed it to be very true, and " that
" it was a great reproach to the nation to be so
" much imposed upon in a trade that they might
" govern themselves : and that the unreasonable
" prices of the wine were not the greatest prejudice
" that was befallen that trade. That before the
" troubles they had been so far from employing any
" stock of money for the support of that traffick, that
364 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " they used to send their ships fully laden with all
~" " commodities thither, which yielded very good
" markets, being sent from thence into the West
" Indies with their Plate fleets ; and that the very
" pipe-staves which they carried did very near sup-
" ply the value of their wine, so that they brought
" home the proceed of their commodities either in
" pieces of eight, or such other merchandizes as had
" been brought thither from the Indies, and upon
" which they received great profit. OQ the con-
" trary, that the trade was now wholly driven by
" ready money ; that the commodities they send thi-
" ther are not taken off, except at their own prices,
" so that they have for the late years sent their ves-
" sels empty thither, except only with some few
" pipe-staves, which by the destruction in Ireland
" they could not send in any great proportion ; and
" that their ships return from thence with no other
" lading but those wines, which they trade for in
" ready money, either by pieces of eight sent in
" their ships from hence, or by bills of exchange
" charged upon some known merchants in Spain.
" That over and above these disadvantages, the
" Spaniards in those islands had of late imposed
" new duties upon the wine, and laid other imposi-
" tions upon the merchants than the English nation
" had been ever accustomed to." They said, " all
" these inconveniences proceeded from the immo-
" derate appetite this nation hath for that sort of
" wine, and therefore they take from them as much
" as they can make ; and from our own disorder
" and irregularity in buying them, and contending
" who shall get the most, and so raising the price
" upon one another, and making the Spaniards
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 365
themselves the judges what the merchants shall 1G65.
" pay.
The lords, upon consultation between themselves,
found the matter too hard for them, and that the
reformation of so much evil must be made by de-
grees, and upon a representation of the whole, with
the difficulties which attended it, to the king and
his privy-council, whose wisdoms only could provide
a remedy proportionable to the mischiefs. For the
present, as they resolved not to raise the prices at
which wine was at that time bought and sold, (which
they believed, how reasonably soever it might be
done, would yet be very unpopular,) so they thought
it not just to draw down and abate those prices,
since it appeared to them that the wines cost more
in proportion upon the places of their growth. They
declared therefore to the merchants and to the vint-
ners, " that though for the present they would per-
" mit the same prices to continue for the next year,
" which they had been sold for the present year,"
and which indeed were confirmed by the late act of
parliament, " they should hereafter take care what
" markets they made ; for that they were resolved
" the next year to make the prices much lower botli
" to the merchant and to the vintner :" and so, upon
the report made by the lords of the whole matter to
the king in council, and of what they thought fit to
be done for the present, a proclamation was pub-
lished accordingly.
The next year both the merchants and vintners
were very earnest suitors to the lords at their ac-
customed meeting, that greater prices might be al-
lowed, or at least that the same might be continued ;
making it very evident, that their wines cost them
366 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. more than they had done the year before. Upon the
"debate the Canary merchants were much divided.
Some of them insisted very importunately to have
the price raised, " because it was notorious that
" they had paid much more than formerly, by rea-
" son," as they alleged, " that the vintage had not
" yielded near the proportion that it used to do."
Others, though confessing the increase of price, yet
pretended a more public spirit and the necessity of a
reformation : and therefore they pressed as earn-
estly, " that the price might not be raised, but that
" they might be permitted to take what they had
" done already for this year." It was quickly dis-
covered whence this moderation proceeded ; and
that the last proposers had a great quantity of wine
upon their hands, which had been provided the year
before, and so might well be sold at the same price ,
but that the former had no old wine left, but were
supplied with a full provision of new, which had
cost them so much dearer. Both the one and the
other desired the lords, " that whatever resolution
" they took for the present, a clause might be in-
" serted in the proclamation, that, the next year
" which followed, Canary wine should not be sold
" for above four and twenty pounds the pipe, and
" that every year after it should be drawn lower,"
as it might well be, it having been sold in the year
1640 for twenty pounds the pipe; though, in the
year when his majesty returned, it had been per-
mitted to be sold at six and thirty pounds the pipe.
" Such a clause," they said, " would give notice to
" the islanders, and oblige them to sell their wines
. " at more reasonable rates, and would render the
" merchants unexcusable if they should give greater."
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 367
Notwithstanding all their allegations, the lords re-
membered what they had declared to them the last
year, which was as fair a warning as any thing they
could now say would be. And accordingly they set
lower prices upon all wines for the year to come
than had been allowed the last, as the most effec-
tual warning for the future : which was thought a
very rigorous proceeding ; but being reported to the
king and council, what they had done was allowed
and confirmed, and his majesty was well contented
that such a clause -as they had proposed should be
inserted in the proclamation ; which was accordingly
done.
The year following, when the lords met again
according to custom, which is, as hath been said,
about Christmas, they found not the least reforma-
tion ; on the contrary, that the Canary merchants
had paid dearer than ever, which made them all
more solicitous to have the price raised, and the
vintners as importunate for their retail. And in-
deed the vintners seemed to be in a much worse
condition than the merchants. And they made it
appear, " that they were often compelled to pay
" higher prices to the merchant than were l imposed
" by their lordships ; without which they could get
" no good wine, and so must give over their keep-
" ing house : that the penalty upon the merchant
" was very small, being not above forty shillings a
" pipe, and the crime not easy to be discovered, as
" was evident by there not having been one mer-
" chant questioned in many years for that common
" transgression ; whereas on the vintner's part the
1 were] was
368 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " penalty was very severe, and easily discovered by
~ " any man who went to a tavern and would be an
" informer, and that most of the vintners in Lon-
" don were at that very time sued in the exchequer
" upon those very penalties, which, if exacted, must
" produce their ruin."
The merchants excused themselves for their pre-
sent pretence, and for their having given more for
their wines than was lawful for them to have done
by their own desire : " that they had done their
" best, and that the greatest traders amongst them
" had consented between themselves not to suffer
" the prices to be raised upon them ; but that they
" found it ineffectual, and that though they should
" give over their trades, it would produce no refor-
" mation. That the trade was open to all adven-
" turers, and that there had been many ships sent
" from England in that very year by Jews, and
" people of several trades, who had never been be-
" fore known to trade to the Canaries : insomuch
" as when they who had been long bred up to the
" trade, and had been long factors in those islands,
" sent their ships thither, they found other English
" ships there, and the wines bought at a greater
" price than they had allowed their factors to give ;
" so that they must either have their ships return
" empty and unladen, or take the wines at the prices
" other men gave. That they had chosen the latter, as
" well to continue their trade, as to draw home some
" part of the stock they had in that country. That
" they could imagine but two ways to reform that
" excess : the one, by putting the trade into such a
" method and m under such rules, as might restrain
ra and"! as in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 369
" that license, and not leave it in the power of per- 1(565.
" sons who never had been in the trade to give the ~~
" law to it ; and by this means the islanders would
" find it necessary to set reasonable prices .upon
" their commodities, and to yield such other advan-
" tages and privileges to the merchants as they had
" heretofore enjoyed. The other, that the king
" would by his proclamation prohibit the importa-
" tion of any Canary wines into his dominions : and
" hereby he would quickly receive such propositions
" from Spain, as would put it into his own power to
" make the reformation ; otherwise the islanders had
" been persuaded that England could not live with-
" out their wines."
The lords were resolved, notwithstanding all that
had been said, that they would execute the former
proclamation, and reduce the prices of wines to
what had been then determined : and after they
had given a full account of the whole business to
the king in council, the resolution was approved,
and a proclamation was issued out to that purpose.
The merchants and vintners applied themselves to
his majesty, and to many of the lords of the council,
and thought they had encouragement enough to
hope for a relief in an appeal to the king and coun-
cil by petition ; and they had thereupon a day as-
signed to be heard. Many of the lords thought it
very hard, if not unjust, to compel men to sell
cheaper than they bought, which was the truth of
the case, and which must oblige both merchants and
vintners to sophisticate and corrupt their wines to
preserve their estates ; which might probably turn
to the great damage of the whole kingdom, in pro-
ducing sickness and diseases : and this charitable
VOL. II. B b
370 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. and generous consideration prevailed with the major
~ part of the lords to be well contented, and to wish
that some indulgence might be exercised towards
them. On the contrary, when the king had well
weighed the whole proceedings, and with trouble
and indignation considered the obstinate vice of the
nation, which made it ridiculous to all the world, he
expressed a positive resolution to vindicate himself
and his government from this reproach. He thought
the adhering firmly to the prices which had been re-
solved upon by the lords would be the best preface
to this reformation, though it might be attended
with particular damage to particular persons, who
had yet less cause to complain, because their own
advice had been followed. And thereupon his ma-
jesty declared, " that he would make no alteration ;"
but withal told them, " that if they could make any
" proposition to him for the better regulation of the
" trade," (for they had themselves mentioned a char-
ter,) " he would graciously receive any propositions
" they would make, and gratify them in what was
" just :" and so, notwithstanding all attempts which
were often repeated, the price set by the lords was
ratified for the year following.
The pnnci- Shortly after, many of the merchants who had al-
pal Canary ... . ... .. i • •
merchants ways traded to the Cananes did petition the king,
^ " that they might be incorporated ; and that none
" might be permitted to trade thither but such who
" would be of that corporation, and observe the con-
" stitutions which should be made by them :" which
petition was presented to the king at the council-
board ; and being read, his majesty (according to
his custom in matters of difficulty and public con-
cernment) directed it to be read again on that
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 371
day month, at which time his majesty presumed 1665.
that all who would oppose it would present their"
reasons and objections against it, which he desired
to hear. At the day appointed, though there was
no petition against it, yet it was observed that there
were many of the most eminent merchants of that
trade, whose names were not to the petition, nor who"
otherwise appeared desirous to have a charter grant-
ed : which his majesty considering, he put off the de-
bate for another week, and directed " that the other
" merchants by name should be desired to be present,
" and to give their advice freely upon the point."
And there was at that day a very full appearance ;
when his majesty directed, " that a relation should
" be made to them of the whole progress that had
" been in the business, and the damage and disho-
" nour the nation underwent in the carrying on
" that trade : that many merchants had presented a
" petition to him, containing an expedient to bring
" it into better order ; but finding them not to ap-
" pear in it, and being informed that they were best
" acquainted with and most engaged in that trade,
" he had sent for them to know their opinion, whe-
" ther they thought what was proposed to be rea-
" sonable and fit to be granted, and if so, why they
" did not concern themselves in it." They an-
swered, "that the reason why they had not ap-
" peared in it was, because they thought they
" should be losers by it, and therefore were not soli-
" citous to procure a grant from his majesty to their
" own damage ;" and so enlarged " upon the nature
" of the trade, their long experience in it, and the
" greatness of their stock, which they should not be
" who] Not in MS.
B b2
372 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665- " allowed to continue under any regulation. But
" as they did not think themselves in a situation0
" to be solicitous for a change, so they could not
" deny, being required by his majesty to speak the
" truth, but that the proposition that was made was
" for the public good and benefit of the kingdom,
" and that they conceived no other way to redeem
" that trade, and the nation from the insolence
" which the Spaniard exercised upon them;" imply-
ing, " that if his majesty would command them,
" they would likewise, concur and join in the carry-
ing " ing on the service." To which his majesty giving
thepetu them gracious encouragement, they all seemed to
depart of one mind ; and his majesty remained con-
firmed in the former opinion he had of it.
But there remained yet an objection, which was
principally insisted on by the ministers of the re-
venue, who alleged very reasonably, "that this new-
" modelling the trade must produce some alteration,
" and would meet some opposition from the Spa-
" niard, which for the time would lessen the customs
" and entitle the farmers to a defalcation." The
petition was therefore referred to the farmers of the
customs, who were to attend the next council-day :
and being then called, they did acknowledge, " that
" the design proposed would prove very profitable
" to the kingdom in many respects," upon which
they enlarged, " and that in the end it would not be
" attended with any diminutions of the customs ;
" but for the present," they said, " they could not
" but expect, that the obstinacy and contradiction of
" the Spaniard would give such a stop to trade, at
0 in a situation] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 373
" least for one year, that if his majesty did not reim- 1665.
" burse them for what should fall short in the re-~
" ceipt of custom, they must look to be very great
" losers." The merchants on the other hand offered
" to be bound, that if they did not the first year
" bring in as much as had been usually entered,
" they would make good what should be wanting to
" the farmers upon a medium." Whereupon his
majesty himself declared, " that he would not, for a
" small damage to himself, hinder the kingdom
" from enjoying so great a benefit:" and he com-
manded his solicitor general, who then attended the
board, " to prepare such a charter as might provide
" for all those good ends which were desired in the
" petition," and which had been so largely debated ;
and it was notorious, that there had never been
a greater concurrence of the board in any direc-
tion.
Many months passed before the charter was pre-
pared ; in which time there was never the least new
objection made against it, nor was it known that
any man was unsatisfied with it. After it was en-
grossed and had passed the king's hand, it was
brought to the great seal ; and there the lord mayor The city of
of London and the court of aldermen had entered
caveat to stop the passing of it. The chancellor, ac-
cording to course, appointed a time when he would
hear all parties. The city alleged an order made a
year or two before by the king in council, upon a
complaint then exhibited by the court of aldermen
against the Turkey company and other corporations,
" in which," they said, " there were very many mer-
" chants of the best trade and of the greatest estates
" in the city, who would never take out their free-
BbS
374 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " dom, and so refused to bear any charge or office
"" " in it, to the very great prejudice and dishonour of
" the city and of the government thereof; since
" they were thereby compelled to call inferior ci-
" tizens to be aldermen, before they had estates to
." bear the charge of it, whilst the gravest and
" the richest men, who were most fit, could not be
" obliged to accept of it, because they were not free-
" men." The persons concerned, which were indeed
a great number of very valuable and substantial
men and of great estates, answered, " that they had
" traded very many years without finding any rea-
" son to take out their freedom, which they might
" do or not do as they thought best for themselves ;
" that they had always paid scot and lot in the se-
" veral parishes where they lived with the highest of
" the inhabitants, and were taxed the more because
" they had not taken out their freedom, they who
" taxed them being always freemen ; that they
" were grown old now, and had no mind to become
" young freemen, but would rather give over their
" trade, and retire into the country where they had
" estates."
Besides the rules which the king gave upon the
difference then in question, he was pleased to de-
clare, and appointed it to be entered as an order in
the council-book, "that care should be taken, that
" in all charters which he should hereafter renew or
" grant to any companies or corporations in the city
" of London, they should first make themselves free-
" men of the city ; by which they might be liable
" to the charges of it, as other citizens are." They
said, " that there were many of this company that
" was now to be incorporated who were not free-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 375
" men :" and therefore the lord mayor and court of J66.0.
aldermen desired the benefit of the king's order,"
which was read.
The merchants confessed, "that many of them
" were not freemen, and resolved not to be :" they
said, " they had never heard of this order, and were
" sorry that they had spent so much money to no
" purpose." The chancellor declared to them, " that The
" he could not seal their charter till they had com- fuses to
" plied with the king's determination, and given 86
" court of aldermen satisfaction :" and they .
» had satisfied
seemed as positive that they would rather be with-thecity-
out their charter, than they would submit to the
other inconveniences : and so they departed. But
after some days' deliberation and consultation be-
tween themselves, and when they found that there
was no possibility to procure a dispensation from
that order, they treated with the city, and agreed
with them in the preparing a clause to be inserted
in their charter, by which they were obliged in so
many years to become freemen ; which clause,
being approved by all parties, was in the king's pre-
sence entered in the bill that his majesty had
signed, and being afterwards added to the engross-
ment, it was again thus reformed and sent to the
great seal, and presented to the chancellor to be
sealed.
• There were by this time several new caveats en-
tered against it at the seal ; all which the chancellor
heard, and settled every one of them to the joint sa-
tisfaction of all parties, and all caveats were with-
drawn. There was then a rumour, that there
would be some motions made against it in the house
of commons : and some parliament-men, who serv-
B b 4
376 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 665. ed for the western boroughs, came to the chancellor,
~ and desired him " that he would defer the sealing it
" for some days till they might be heard, since it
" would undo their western trade ; and," they said,
" they resolved to move the house of commons to
" put a stop to it." The chancellor informed them
of the whole progress it had passed, and told them,
" he believed that they would hardly be able to
"offer any good reasons against it:" however,
since it was then well known that the parliament
would be prorogued within ten or twelve days, he
said " he would suspend the sealing it till then, to
" the elid that they might offer any objections
" against it there or any where else." But though
the parliament sat longer than it was then con-
ceived it would have done, there was no mention or
notice taken of it : and after the prorogation no ap-
plication was further made for the stopping it, and
the merchants pressed very importunately that it
might be sealed, alleging with reason " that the de-
" ferring it so long had been very much to their
" prejudice." Whereupon the chancellor conceived
that it would not consist with his duty to delay it
longer, and so affixed the great seal to it.
The company then chose a governor and other
officers according to their charter, and made such
orders and by-laws as they thought fit for the carry-
ing on and advancement of their trade, which they
might alter when they thought convenient ; and for
the present they resolved upon a joint stock, and
assigned so many shares to each particular man.
Somediffe- _ 5 . . / ,. ., .
In this composition and distribution there fell out
some difference between themselves, which could
e taken notice of abroad : and even some of
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 377
them, who first petitioned and were most solicitous 1655.
to procure the charter, did what they could to hin-
der the effect of it ; sent privately to their factors
at the Canaries, " to oppose any orders that should
" be sent from the governor and the company, and
" that they should do all they could to incense the
" Spaniards against the charter," and bade them
promise " that all their wine should be taken off in
"spite of the corporation." Whereupon great dis-
orders did arise in the Canaries between the English
themselves ; and by the conjunction of the Spaniards
with those few English who opposed the charter,
they proceeded so far as to send the principal factors
for the company out of the island into Spain, and to
make a public act by the governor and council
there, " that no ship belonging to the company
" should be suffered to come into the harbour, or to
"take in any lading from the island:" all which
was transacted there many months before it was
known in England, and probably would have been
prevented or easily reformed, if it had not pleased
God that the plague at this time spread very much
in London, and if the war with the Dutch had not
restrained all English ships from going to the Cana-
ries for the space of a year ; which intermission,
not to be prevented nor in truth foreseen, gave
some advantage to the merchants at home who op-
posed their charter, who complained for the not-
return of their several stocks within the time that
the company had promised they should be re-
turned.
I am not willing to resume this discourse in
another place, which I should be compelled to do if
I discontinued the relation in this place, as in point
378 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. of time I should do; but I choose rather to insert
~~here what fell out afterwards, and to finish the ac-
count of that affair, that there may be no occasion
in the current of this narration to mention any par-
ticulars that related to it.
When the king was at Oxford, and was informed
of what had passed at the Canaries, some mer-
chants appeared there to petition against the char-
ter, whereof there were some who were the first pe-
are titioners for it. His majesty appointed a day for the
referred to J J J
the king; solemn hearing it in the presence of his privy-coun-
cil, the governor being likewise summoned and pre-
sent there. Upon opening all their grievances the
petitioners themselves confessed, " that they could
" not complain of the charter ; that it was a just and
" necessary charter, and for the great benefit of the
" kingdom, though some private men might for
" the present be losers by it : that their complaint
" was only against their constitutions and by-laws,
" and the severe prosecution thereupon contraiy to
" the intention of the charter itself;" instancing,
amongst other things, " the very short day limited
" by the charter, after which they could not continue
" their .trade without being members of the corpo^
" ration ; and that day was so soon after the sealing
" the charter, that it was not possible for them to
" draw their stocks from thence in so short a time."
When they had finished all their objections, the
king observed to them, " that they complained only
" of what themselves had done, and not at all of the
" charter, which gave them only authority to choose
" a governor, and to make constitutions and by-
" laws, but directed not what the constitutions and
" by-laws should be, which were the result of their
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 379
" own consultations P, in which the major part must 1665.
" have concurred; and of that kind the resolution ~~
" for a joint stock was one, which and all the rest
" they might alter again at the next court, if the
" major part were grieved with it." But because
they had complained of some particulars, in which
they might have reason on their side, his majesty
expressed a willingness to mediate and to make an
agreement between them : and thereupon he re-
quired the governor to answer such and such parti-
culars which seemed to have most of justice ; but
the governor answered all at large, and made it
clearly appear, that they had in truth no cause of
complaint. As to the short day that was assigned
for the drawing away their stocks, which had the
greatest semblance of reason in all they complained
of, he said, " they had no reason to mention their
" want of warning, for that the day was well enough
" known to them long before the sealing the char-
" ter, and might very well have been complied
" with," (the reasons why the sealing the charter
was so long deferred are set down before,) " and
" could be no reason to them to neglect the giving
" direction in their own concernments ; but that
" they knew likewise, that the day was enlarged to
" a day desired by themselves, that there might be
" no pretence for discontent :" and thereupon the
order of the court to that purpose was read to his
majesty, and they could not deny it to be true.
In conclusion, since it did appear that their stock
did in truth still remain in the Canaries, and in jus-
tice belonged to them, whether it was their fault or
P consultations] erroneously in MS. constitutions
380 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. their misfortune that it had not been drawn over in
who time ; the king persuaded the governor and his as-
fiesaii sistants'to give them such satisfaction in that and
other particulars, that before they retired from his
majesty's presence they were unanimously agreed
upon all their pretences : and though some of the
lords, upon some insinuations and discourses which
they had heard, had believed the company to have
been in the wrong, they were now fully convinced
of the contrary, and believed the charter to be
founded upon great reason of state, and that the
execution of it had been very justifiable and with
great moderation. And it is to be observed, that
the parliament being then assembled at Oxford,
there was not the least complaint against that char-
ter or corporation.
Avmdica- And this was the whole progress of that affair,
tion of the . .
chancellor until it served some men's turns to make it after-
fair. 1S wards matter of reproach to the chancellor, in a time
when he had too great a weight of the king's dis-
pleasure upon him to defend himself from that and
other calumnies, which few men thought him guilty
of. And if the motives of state were not of weight
enough to support the patent, more ought not to be
objected to him than to every other counsellor, there
having never * been a more unanimous concurrence
at that board in any advice they have given : and
the delays he used in the passing the charter after
it came to his hand, his giving so long time for
the making objections against it, and his so posi-
tively opposing the company with reference to their
being freemen of the city, are no signs that he had
') never] Omitted in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 381
such a mind to please them, as a man would have 1665.
who had been corrupted by them, or who was to
have a share in the profit of the patent, as was after-
wards suggested, but never believed by any to whom
he was in any degree known, who knew well that he
frequently refused to receive money that he might
very lawfully have done, and never took a penny
which he was obliged to refuse. He was indeed, as
often at that affair came to be debated, very clear in
his judgment for the king's granting it, and always
continued of the same opinion : nor did he ever deny,
that some months after the patent was sealed the
governor made him a present in the name of the
corporation, as it is presumed he did to many other
officers through whose hands it passed, and which
was never refused by any of his predecessors when
it came from a community upon the passing a char-
ter ; which he never concealed from the king, who
thought he might well do it. In the last place it is
to be remembered, that after all the clamour against
this charter in parliament, and upon the arguing
against the legality of it by eminent lawyers before
the house of peers, it was so well supported by the
king's attorney general and other learned lawyers,
that the lords would not give judgment against it :
but the governor and the corporation durst not
dispute it further with the house of commons, but
chose to surrender their charter into the king's
hands.
The French had their ambassador, monsieur Oom-
minge, remaining still in England, who pretended
to be ready to finish still the treaty of commerce,
but formalized so much upon every article, though
382 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 665. nothing was demanded but what had been granted
to Cromwell, that it was concluded that he wanted
power, though somewhat was imputed to the capri-
ciousness of his nature, which made him hard to
treat with, and not always vacant at the hours him-
self assigned, being hypochondriac and seldom sleep-
The French [ncr without OplUHl. As SOOn as the War Was de-
send am-
bassador^ clared, the king of France sent two other ambassa*-
land under dors, whereof, for the countenance and splendour of
mediation0. **» the duke of Vcrnucil was one, who being uncle
to both the kings was received rather under that re-
lation than in the other capacity, and was lodged
and treated by the king during the whole time of
his stay. With him came likewise monsieur Cour-
tine, a master of requests, and much the quickest r
man of the three, and upon whose parts and address
most of the business depended. The former ambas-
sador was joined in commission with the other two :
and their declared business was to mediate a peace
between the king and the Dutch, when there had
been yet little harm done, only great preparations
made on both sides for the war ; which they did not
seem very solicitous to interrupt, but contented
themselves with declaring at their first audience,
" that the king their master out of Christianity,
" and to prevent the effusion of Christian blood, de-
" sired to mediate a peace, which the States of the
" United Provinces were very willing 8 he should do,
" and professed to have a very great desire of peace ;
" which made his Christian majesty hope that he
" should find the same good inclinations here, and
" if he might be informed what his majesty did re-
r quickest], quicker R willing] Omitted in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 383
" quire, or what would be grateful to him, he did
" not doubt but that he should persuade the States to
" submit to it."
And with this general discourse, and without de-
livering any memorial in writing, the ambassadors
acquiesced for many months, as if their business was
only that the Dutch ambassador, who remained still
in London, might know and send word to his mas-
ters that they had begun their mediation. Other-
wise they seemed in all their discourses to make some
kind of apology for being sent, implying, " as if the
" extraordinary importunity of the Dutch had pre-
" vailed with the king to undertake this mediation,
" and which he did the rather, upon their promise
" that they would yield to any thing he should
" advise them ; and he was very far from desiring
" that his majesty might not receive ample satisfac-
" tion in whatsoever he required :" so that the king
did not imagine, whatever information he had re-
ceived before, and whatever jealousy he had enter-
tained, that this embassy would be concluded in the
denunciation of a war against him. Nor is it pro-
bable that the ambassadors themselves at that time
knew that they were to perform that office, though
it was afterwards evident that the matter had been
long before resolved in France. They lived between
the two courts, for the queen mother was likewise
at that time at her palace of Somerset-house, in
much jollity, and as vacant from any affairs till they
might receive new orders from court, but spending
much time with the Dutch ambassador, whom they
persuaded " that they were very intent upon and
" had much advanced the treaty," as appeared by
the ambassador's letters to the Hague.
384 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. The plague increased so fast, that the queen mo-
The ueen ther, who had all the winter complained of her in-
mother disposition of health, and declared that she would in
leaves Eng-
land, the summer go again into France, took that occa-
sion x albeit she was recovered to a very good state ;
and about the end of July removed and embarked
for France, and took so many things with her, that
it was thought by many that she did not intend ever
to return into England. Whatever her intentions at
that time were, she never did see England again,,
though she lived many years after.
The duke It was in April that the duke went to sea : and
y from the day of his going thither with the fleet, let-
*ers an^ OI>ders came from him to the day of the
battle for an addition of more ships, upon intelli-
gence of an increase of strength added to the enemy,
though they yet lay still in the harbours, whilst the
duke was upon their coasts. But Mr. Coventry still
made new demands, and wrote to the chancellor,
" that whilst the king's brother was at sea and ven-
" tured his own person, nobody who wished him
" well1 would, for saving money, hinder any thing
" from being sent that his highness thought neces-
" sary for his defence :" and all things were sent,
though procured with wonderful difficulty.
The treasurer had believed, when all the provi-
sions were delivered which had been demanded, and
all computations satisfied which had been made, and
the fleet at sea, that there would have been no more
expense till its return ; whereas every day added
new expense which had not been thought of: and
the requiring of more ships was then believed, and
1 well] Omitted in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 385
more afterwards, to proceed from the restless spirit 1665.
of Mr. Coventry, who cared not how much he in-""
creased u the expense, and 'was willing to put the
treasurer and all the king's ministers to contend
with all difficulties, that he might reproach their
laziness or want of ability. But they did not gratify
him in that, but all the ships, and whatever else was
sent for, were sent ; insomuch as the fleet amounted
to no less than one hundred sail, and was now re- He retires
tired, for want of somewhat to do, to our own coast, iuh coastf"
where they resolved to attend the motion of the
enemy: and in this time most of the volunteers,
having endured the unpleasantness of the sea above
a month, begun to think that the war was not so
necessary as they had thought it to be.
The duke's family, that was numerous in his own
ship, were not at ease, and found less respect from
the seamen than they had x looked for : they grew
into factions between themselves, and the earl of
Falmouth and Mr. Coventry were rivals who should
have most interest in the duke, who loved the earl
best, but thought the other the wiser man, who sup-
ported Pen (who disobliged all the courtiers) even
against the earl, who contemned Pen as a fellow of
no sense, and not worthy of the charge and trust
that was reposed in him. In this discomposure and
having nothing to do, every body grew angry at the
occasion that brought them thither, and wished for
peace.
The earl of Falmouth, as in a time of leisure, was
sent by the duke with compliments to the king, and
to vgive him an account of the good state of the
how much he increased] to increase x had] Not in MS.
VOL. II. C C
386 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. fleet : he visited the chancellor, to whom he had al-
~~ ways paid great respect and made many professions ;
and he told him, " that they were all mad who had
" wished this war, and that himself had been made
" a fool to contribute to it, but that his eyes were
" open, and a month's experience at sea had enough
" informed him of the great hazards the king ran in
" it." He reproached Pen " as a sot, and a fellow
" that? he thought would be found without courage."
He told him, " that the king and the duke too were
" both inclined to peace, and discerned that the
" charge and expense of the war would be insup-
" portable ;" and concluded, " that as soon as this
" action should be over, which could not be avoided
" many days if the Dutch fleet put to sea, as it could
" not be doubted it would, it would be good time to
" make a peace, which he desired him to think of,
" and to speak with the king, whom he would find
" disposed to it :" and so he returned to the fleet.
The Dutch And by that time the Dutch were come out, and
the next day were in view. They were near of
equal number, and well manned, under the com-
mand of Opdam, the admiral of the whole fleet, upon
whom the States had conferred that charge, that
the prince of Orange's party might conclude, that
they never intended that he should have the charges
of his father and grandfather, and likewise to gratify
the nobility of Holland, that had a very small share
in the government. And this gentleman, who had
never been at sea before, and had but a small for-
tune, was of that number, and had joined with that
faction which was averse from the family of Orange.
> that] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 387
The fleets came within sight of each other on the 1665.
first of June, and had some skirmishes, which conti- ~~
nued on the second, the wind favouring neither party,
as willing to keep them asunder : but upon the third
it served both their turns, and brought them as near
each other as they could desire to be.
Nor di£ the Dutch seem to advance with less cou-The first
rage and resolution. Opdam the Dutch admiral g^ement!
with his squadron bore directly upon the duke, with
a resolution to board him : but before he came near
enough, and very little before, whether by an acci-
dent within his own ship, or from a grenado or other
shot out of the duke's ship, his gunroom took fire,
and in a moment the ship sunk without any man
being saved. The vice-admiral of the same squa-
dron, being a Zealander, pursued the same resolution,
and had boarded the duke if captain Jeremy Smith,
a captain of the duke's squadron, had not put him-
self between and boarded the vice-admiral, who was
equally attacked by the duke : and so that ship was
taken after most of the men were killed ; and the
captain himself was so wounded, that he only lived
to be brought on board the duke's ship, and to com-
plain of his companions " for not having seconded him
" according to an oath they had taken on board their
" admiral the day before," and died within half an
hour, to the great trouble of the duke, who gave
him a great testimony for a very gallant man, and
much desired to preserve him.
The fight continued all the day with very great The Dutch
J n 2T are worsted.
loss of men on all sides, though after the first two
hours the Dutch, seeing many of their best ships
burned and more taken, did all that the wind would
give them leave to separate themselves from the
cc 2
388 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
.1665. English fleet, which pursued them so close, that
~~ they found they lost more by flying than by fighting,
and did lessen their sails to give some stop to the
pursuit till the night might favour them : and the
evening no sooner came, but they hoisted up all
their sails, and intended nothing but their escape.
When there was no more to be done by the ap-
proach of the night, the duke, who was infinitely
tired with the labour of the day, having lost above
two hundred men aboard his own ship, whereof some
were z persons of quality, who stood next his own
person, and shall be named anon, was prevailed with
to repose himself after he had taken some suste-
nance ; which he did, after he had given the master
of the ship, an honest and a skilful seaman, direct
and positive charge " to bear up in that manner
" upon the Dutch fleet that he might lose no ground,
" but find himself as near, when the day should
" appear, as he was then when he went to sleep."
The fleet had no guide but the lanthorn of the ad-
miral, and were not to outsail him of course, and
The re- behaved themselves accordingly. But when the
their fleet duke arose and the day appeared, the Dutch fleet
night?8 by was out of view ; and before he could reach them,
they were got into their ports, or under the shelter
of their flats, that it was not counsellable for the
great ships to pursue them further : yet some of
those ships which made not so much way, or had not
steered so directly, were taken by the lesser ships
that followed them. And the duke had received so
many blows on his own and the other ships, that it
was necessary to retire into a port, where they might
be repaired.
z were] Omitted in MS. & into] in
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 389
It was a day of signal triumph, the action of it 1665.
having much surpassed all that was done in Crom- The great
well's time, whose navals were much greater thanj^8tc°hfthe
had ever been in any age : but the Dutch had never
then fought with so much courage and resolution ;
nor were their ships then in strength to be com-
pared to the English, as Van Trump assured them,
" and that except they built better ships, they would
" be as often beaten as they fought with the Eng-
" lish." And from that time they new-built all their
navy, and brought now with them as good ships as
any the king had : and the men for some hours
behaved themselves well. In that day the duke
sunk, burned, and took eighteen good ships of war,
whereof half were of the best they had, with the
loss of one single small ship, for there was no more
missing of his whole fleet. It is true the number of
the killed and wounded men was very great, and
was thought the greater, because in the great mas-
sacre that was on the other side there was no man,
except Opdam their admiral, who had a name.
There were many excellent officers killed and taken,
men of courage and of great experience in naval
affairs, and therefore an irreparable damage to them ;
but they had grown up from common seamen, and
so were of no other quality than every mariner of
the fleet.
On the part of the English, besides above two Persons .
hundred men that were killed on board the duke's thae"side of
own ship, there fell the earl of Falmouth, who haththeEnglish:
* The earl of
been lately spoken of, and the lord Muskerry, eldest^' mouth;
son to the earl of Clancarty, a young man of extra- 1'
ordinary courage and expectation, who had been
colonel of a regiment of foot in Flanders under the
c c 3
390 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. duke, and had the general estimation of an excel-
*~ lent officer : he was of the duke's bedchamber, and
the earl and he were at that time so near the duke,
that his highness was all covered with their blood.
Mr. Richard There fell likewise in the same ship Mr. Richard
Boyle, a younger son of the earl of Burlington, a
youth of great hope, who came newly home from
travel, where he had spent his time with singular
advantage, and took the first opportunity to lose his
life in the king's service. There were many other
gentlemen volunteers in the same ship, who had the
,same fate.
In prince Rupert's ship, who did wonders that
day, and in that of the earl of Sandwich, who be-
haved him with notable courage and conduct, there
were very many men slain, and some gentlemen vo-
lunteers, of the best families, whose memories should
The eari be preserved. The earl of Marlborough, who had
borough ; the command of one of the best ships, and had great
experience at sea, having made many long voyages
at sea, and being now newly returned from the East
Indies, whither the king had sent him with a squa-
dron of ships to receiverthe island of Bombayne from
Portugal, was in this battle likewise slain. He was
a man of wonderful parts in all kinds of learning,
which he took more delight in than his title ; and
having no great estate descended to him, he brought
down his mind to his fortune, and lived very retired,
but with more reputation than any fortune could
The eari of have given him. The earl of Portland was a vo-
lunteer on board his ship, and lost his life by his
side, being a young man of very good parts, newly
come of age, and the son of a very wise and worthy
father, who died few months before : and he having
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 391
a long and entire friendship with the earl of Marl- 1665.
borough, his son, though of a melancholic nature,"
intended to lead an active life, and to apply himself
to it under the conduct of his father's friend, with
whom he died very bravely.
There was another almost irreparable loss this An<* »'r
day in sir John Lawson, who was admiral of a squa- son ;
dron, and of so eminent skill and conduct in all ma-
ritime occasions, that his counsel was most consi-
dered in all debates, and the greatest seamen were
ready to receive advice from him. In the middle of
the battle he received a shot with a musket-bullet
upon the knee, with which he /ell : and finding that
he could no more stand, and was in great torment,
he sent to the duke to desire him to send another
man to command his ship ; which he presently did.
The wound was not conceived to be mortal ; and
they made haste to send him on shore, as far as
Deptford or Green wich, where for some days there
was hope of his recovery; but shortly his wound
gangrened, and so he died with very great courage,
and profession of an entire duty and fidelity to the
king.
He was indeed of all the men of that time, and of His ch»-
. . • racter.
that extraction and education, incomparably the
modestest and the wisest man, and most worthy to
be confided in. He was of Yorkshire near Scar-
borough, of that rank of people who are bred to
the sea from their cradle. And a young man of
that profession he was, when the parliament first
possessed themselves of the royal navy ; and Hull
being in their hands, all the northern seamen easily
betook themselves to their service : and his in-
dustry and sobriety made him quickly taken notice
c c 4
392 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1C65. of, and to be preferred from one degree to another,
till from a common sailor he was promoted to be a
captain of a small vessel, and from thence to the
command of the best ships.
He had been in all the actions performed by
Blake, some of which were very stupendous, and in
all the battles which Cromwell had fought with the
Dutch, in which he was a signal officer and very
much valued by him. He was of that classis of reli-
gion which were called independents, most of which
were anabaptists, who were generally believed to
have most aversion to the king, and therefore em-
ployed in most offices of trust. He was commander
in chief of the fleet when Richard was thrown out :
and when the contest grew between the rump and
Lambert, he brought the whole fleet into the river,
and declared for that which was called the parlia-
ment; which brake the neck of all other designs,
though he intended only the better settlement of the
commonwealth.
When the council of state was settled between
the dissolution of the rump and the calling the par-
liament, they did not like the temper of the fleet,
nor especially of Lawson, who, under the title of
vice-admiral, had the whole command of the fleet,
which was very strong, and in which there were
many captains they liked well : yet they durst not
remove the vice-admiral, lest his interest in the sea-
men, which was very great, should give them new
trouble. The expedient they resolved upon was to
send colonel Mountague as admiral to command the
fleet, without removing Lawson, who continued still
in his command, and could not refuse to be com-
manded by Mountague, who had always been his
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 393
superior officer, and who had likewise a great in- 1665.
terest in very many of the officers and seamen.""
Yet Mountague, who brought with him a firm reso-
lution to serve the king, which was well known to
his majesty, had no confidence in Lawson till the
parliament had proclaimed the king : and when he
brought the fleet to Scheveling to receive the king,
all men looked upon the vice-admiral as a great ana-
baptist, and not fit to be trusted. But when the
king and the duke had conferred with him, they liked
him very well : and he was from time to time in
the command of vice-admiral in all the fleets which
were sent into the Mediterranean. Nor did any
man perform his duty better : he caused all persons,
how well qualified soever, who he knew were affect-
ed to a republic, to be dismissed from the service,
and brought very good order into his own ship, and
frequented the church-prayers himself, and made
all the seamen do so. He was very remarkable in
his affection and countenance towards all those who
had faithfully served the king, and never commend-
ed any body to the duke to be preferred but such ;
and performed to his death all that could be ex-
pected from a brave and an honest man.
It looked like some presage that he had of his
own death, that before he went to sea he came to
the treasurer and the chancellor, to whom he had al-
ways borne much respect, and spake to them in a
dialect he had never before used, for he was a very
generous man, and lived in his house decently and
plentifully, and had never made any the least suit
or pretence for money. Now he told them, " that
" he was going upon an expedition in which many
" honest men must lose their lives : and though he
394 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665^ " had no apprehension of himself, but that God
" would protect him as he had often done in the
" same occasions, yet he thought it became him
" against the worst to make his condition known to
" them, and the rather, because he knew he was es-
" teemed generally to be rich." He said, " in truth
" he thought himself so some few months since,
" when he was worth eight or nine thousand
" pounds : but the marriage of his daughter to a
" ytmng gentleman in quality and fortune much
" above him, (Mr. Richard Norton of Southwick in
" Hampshire, who had fallen in love with her, and
" his father, out of tenderness to his son, had con-
" sen ted to it,) had obliged him to give her such a
" portion as might in some degree make her worthy
" of so great a fortune ; and that he had not re-
" served so much to himself and wife, and all his
" other children, which were four or five, as he had
" given to that daughter." He desired them there-
fore, " that if he should miscarry in this enterprise,
" the king would give his wife two hundred pounds
** a year for her life ; if he lived, he desired no-
" thing. He hoped he should make some provision
" for them by his own industry : nor did he desire
" any other grant or security for this two hundred
" pounds yearly, than the king's word and promise,
" and that they would see it effectual." The suit
was so modest, and the ground of making it so just
and reasonable, that they willingly informed his ma-
jesty of it, who as graciously granted it, and spake
himself to him of it with very obliging circum-
stances ; so that the poor man went very contentedly
to his work, and perished as gallantly in it with an
universal lamentation. And it is to be presumed
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 395
that the promise was as well performed to his wife : 1665.
sure it is, it was exactly complied with whilst either ~
of those two persons had any power.
The victory and triumph of that day was surely
very great, and a just argument of public joy : how
it came to be no greater shall be said anon. And
the trouble and grief in many noble families, for the
loss of so many worthy and gallant persons, could
not but be very lamentable in wives, in fathers and
mothers, and the other nearest relations : but no The king
sorrow was equal, at least none so remarkable, as froubied at
the king's was for the earl of Falmouth. They
who knew his majesty best, and had seen how un- Falmouth-
shaken he had stood in other very terrible assaults,
were amazed at the flood of tears he shed upon this
occasion The immenseness of the victory, and the
consequences that might have attended it ; the
safety and preservation of his brother with so much
glory, on whose behalf he had had so terrible appre-
hensions during the three days' fight, having by the
benefit of the wind heard the thunder of the ordnance
from the beginning, even after by the lessening of
the noise, as from a greater distance, he concluded
that the enemy was upon flight : yet all this, and
the universal joy that he saw in the countenance of
all men for the victory and the safety of the duke,
made no impression in him towards the mitigation
of his passion for the loss of this young favourite, in
whom few other men had ever observed any virtue
or quality which they did not wish their best friends
without ; and very many did believe that his death
was a great ingredient and considerable part of the
victory. He was young and of insatiable ambition ;
and a little more experience might have taught him
396 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. all things which his weak parts were capable of.
~~ But they who observed the strange degree of favour
he had on the sudden arrived to, even from a detes-
tation the king had towards him, and concluded
from thence, and more from the deep sorrow the
king was possessed with for his death, to what a
prodigious height he might have reached in a little
time more, were not at all troubled that he was
taken out of the way.
The duke, after he had given directions for the
speedy repairing of the fleet, and for the present
sending out such ships as could quickly be made
ready to rideb before the coast of Holland, made
haste to present himself to the king, and to the
queen his mother, who was ready to begin her
journey to France, and had stayed some days to see
the success of the naval fight, and afterwards to see
the duke ; and within few days after his arrival her
majesty left the kingdom.
The rea- And now the whisper began in the duke's family
°f tne reason, why the victory, after so great advan-
*ages> na^ n°t been pursued with that vigour that
might have made it more destructive to the enemy
than it proved to be. The master of the duke's
ship (captain ) pursued his orders very punc-
tually after the duke was gone to sleep, and kept
within a just distance of the Dutch fleet that re-
mained in order together, for many fled in confusion
and singly to that part of the coast that they
thought they knew best ; and many of them were
taken. But the duke was no sooner in sleep, but
Mr. Brounker of his bedchamber, who with wonder-
b ride] rise
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 397
ful confusion had sustained the terror of the day, 1665.
resolved to prevent the like on the day succeeding. ~
He first went to sir William Pen, who commanded
the ship, and told him, " that he knew well how
" miraculously the duke was preserved that day, and
" that they ought not further to tempt God ;" wished
him to remember, " that the duke was not only the
" king's brother, but the heir apparent of the crown,
" and what the consequence would be if he should
" be lost. And therefore it would concern him not
" to suffer the duke's known and notorious courage
" to engage him in a new danger, which he would
" infallibly be exposed to c the next morning, if they
" continued to make so much sail as they did, and
" to keep so near the Dutch, who fled, but if they
" were pressed and in despair would fight as stoutly
" as they had done in the beginning. And there-
" fore he desired and advised him to give the master
" order to slacken the sails, that the Dutch might
" get what ground they could, to avoid a further
" encounter." Pen answered him honestly, and told
him, " he durst give no such orders, except he had
" a mind to be hanged, for the duke had himself
" given positive charge to the contrary.'*
Mr. Brounker, when he could not prevail there,
confidently went to the master of the ship, who was
an honest and a stout man, and carefully kept the
steerage himself,, that he might be sure to observe
the order he had received from his highness, and
told him, " that it was the duke's pleasure that he
" should slack the sails, without taking notice of it
" to any man." Whereupon the master did as he
1 exposed to] Omitted in MS.
398 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. was commanded, making no doubt that a servant so
~near the person of his highness, and in so much
favour with him, would not d have brought such an
order without due authority.
And by this means the remainder of the fleet
escaped, which otherwise would probably have been
all taken : for it was afterwards known, that there
was such a confusion amongst the officers, that no-
body would obey ; for though in truth the right of
commanding, according to the course observed
amongst them, after the death of Opdam, was in
the vice-admiral of Zealand, yet, he being likewise
killed, the other could not agree. But young
Trump, the son of the old famous admiral, who had
behaved himself very bravely all the day, challenged
the command in the right of Holland; but John
Evertson of Zealand, brother to him that was killed,
required it as his right : which begat so great an
animosity as well as confusion amongst them, that
the morning, if they had been pursued, would in all
probability have proved6 as dismal to them as the
day before had done.
But the duke never suspected this, nor did any
presume to tell him of it, which made many men
presume that it was done with privity f of Mr. Co-
ventry, not only for the great friendship between
him and Brounker, but because both Pen and the
master were so silent when the duke was so much
troubled the next morning : nor did the duke come
to hear of it till some years after, when Mr. Broun-
ker's ill course of life and his abominable nature had
rendered him so odious, that it was taken notice of
a not] Omitted in MS. ' privity] the privity
e proved] Omitted in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 399
in parliament, and upon examination found to be 1665.
true, as is here related ; upon which he was expelled ~~
the house of commons, whereof he was a member,
as an infamous person, though his friend Coventry
adhered to him, and used many indirect arts to have
protected him, and afterwards procured him to have
more countenance from the king than most men
thought he deserved, being a person throughout his
whole life never notorious for any thing but the
highest degree of impudence, and stooping to the
most infamous offices, and playing very well at chess,
which preferred him more than the most virtuous
qualities could have done.
With this victory a new vast charge and expense
(beside the repairing the hurt ships, masts, and rig-
ging, and fitting out new ships of war, and buying
more fireships) appeared, that was never foreseen or
brought into any computation ; which was a provi-
sion for sick and wounded men, which amounted to
so great a number upon all the coast, that the charge
amounted in all places, notwithstanding the general
charity of the people, and the convenience that many
hospitals yielded, to above two thousand pounds the
week for some weeks, and though less afterwards
by the death and recovery of many, yet continued
very great ; besides the charge of keeping the Dutch
prisoners, which were above two thousand, and every
day increased.
The duke was very impatient to repair and set The queen
out the fleet again to sea, and resolved nothing more "ents ther
than to go in person again to command it, his fa- f"^
mily remaining still on board, and preparing suchagain-
things as were wanting for his accommodation : but
the queen mother had prevailed with the king at
400 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. parting to promise her, " that the duke should not
~~ " go again in person in that expedition ;" which
was concealed from the duke, his majesty believing
that the confidence of his royal highness's going
contributed very much to the setting out the fleet,
as it did so much, that but for that, it had been
impossible to have procured so much money as was
with infinite difficulty procured, to satisfy the ex-
penses of so many kinds, whereof many had been
unthought of. And towards this there was a benefit
that flowed from a fountain of extreme misery,
which was the increase of the plague, which spread
so fast that the king's staying so long in town was
very dangerous. Yet the approach of this great ca-
lamity, that in other respects produced great mis-
chiefs, advanced the present enterprise : for all peo-
ple who had money knew not what to do with it,
not daring to leave it in their houses where they
durst not stay themselves ; so that * they willingly
put it into the bankers' hands, who supplied the
king upon such assignations as the late act of par-
liament and other branches of the king's revenue
would yet bear.
The French And if at this time the French ambassadors had
ambassadors . . . .
neglect an pursued their office ot mediation, it is very probable
that it might have been with success. For besides
the great loss the Dutch had received in the battle
and in their being deprived of so many of the mer-
chants' ships, the factions were irreconcileable in the
fleet : there were many officers who had behaved
themselves very basely and cowardly in the action,
but they knew not how to punish them ; Evertson
s that] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 401
and Trump, who were their best seamen, would not 1665.
submit to be commanded by each other ; the people ~
were ready to rise upon De Wit, upon whom they
looked as the occasion of the war, and cried aloud
for peace. And the faction amongst the States
themselves was very visible : all the other complained
bitterly against the province of Holland, " which,"
they said, " had engaged them in a war against their
" will and without their privity, which was directly
" contrary to the form and constitution of their go-
" vernment." In a word, peace was universally de-
sired and prayed for ; and, in the opinion of all men,
any reasonable conditions would at that time have
been yielded to. And as the people of England ge-
nerally had not been h pleased with the beginning
the war, so the court was weary of it ; and the king
would have been willing to have received any good
overtures for the composing it ; and the duke, since
he was kept from bearing a part in it, would not
have opposed it. But the ambassadors pressed no
such matter, but congratulated the victory with the
same joy they found in the court, and seemed to
think that any misfortune that could befall the
Dutch would be but a just punishment for their
pride and insolence towards all their neighbour
princes : the two nations had not yet worried them-
selves enough, entirely to submit to the arbitration
of France ; which it resolved they should do.
Within less than a month the fleet was again pre-The fleet
pared and ready for the sea, as strong and in as good pa
a condition as it had been before the battle ; and the
king and the duke went thither, the duke making
h been] Omitted inMS.
VOL. II. D d
402 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. no doubt of putting his person on board. And the
""king at that time resolved that prince Rupert and
the earl of Sandwich should have the joint command
of it : in order to which prince Rupert was pre-
pared, of whose easy concurrence only there was
some doubt, his majesty promising himself all con-
formity and resignation from the earl of Sandwich ;
which he met with in both, for the prince very
cheerfully submitted to his majesty's pleasure. In
the journey the king acquainted his brother with
his resolution, and the promise he had made to the
queen their mother; with which the duke was
much troubled, and offered many reasons to divert
his majesty from laying his command upon him :
but when he found there was no remedy, he submit-
ted, and gave orders for disembarking his family and
goods.
But when this was communicated to Mr. Coven-
try, who was to prepare such commissions and war-
rants as upon this alteration of counsels were neces-
sary, he persuaded the duke, and prevailed with
him to believe, " that it would be much better to
" commit the sole command of the fleet to the earl
"of Sandwich, than to join prince Rupert in it with
" him," who, for no other reason but for not es-
teeming him at the rate he valued himself, had been
long in his disfavour. He suggested some defects in
the prince, which nobody could absolve him from,
and which the gentle temper of the earl of Sand-
wich, who knew him as well as the other, could
have complied with : and many thought it would
have in the conjunction produced a very good mix-
ture, the danger from the prince being too sudden
resolutions from too much heat and passion, and
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 403
the earl having enough of phlegm and wariness in 1665.
deliberating, and much vigour in the executing
what was concluded ; and they were both well pre-
pared and inclined to perform the function.
But Mr. Coventry's advice prevailed both with
the duke and king : and so in the instant that the
king and duke were to return from the fleet that
was ready to set sail with the first fair wind *, and
not till then, the king told prince Rupert, without
enlarging upon the reasons, " that he would have
" him to return with him to London, and accompany
"him this summer, and that the earl of Sandwich
" should have the sole command of the fleet ;" with
which the prince was wonderfully surprised and
perplexed, and even heart-broken ; but there was
no contending. He stayed behind the king only till
he could get his goods and family disembarked, and
then returned with very much trouble to the court :
and the earl of Sandwich set sail with the fleet, The fleet
with direction first to visit the coast of Holland,
and if he found that the Dutch fleet was not rea
to come out, that he should go to the northward to
watch the East India fleet, which had orders from
their superiors to come by the north, that they
might avoid the English fleet, that was master of
the sea.
It was in the end of June or beginning of July
that the king and duke returned from the fleet ;
and within few days after, it set sail: when the
plague increased so fast, that there died about two
thousand in a week ; so that all men cried out
against the king's staying so long at Whitehall, the
sickness being already in Westminster. Where-
' first fair wind] first wind
Dd 2
404 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. upon the king, after he had taken the best care he
The king could with the lord mayor for the good ordering the
n? c*tv' an(* published such orders as were thought ne-
court on cessary for the relief and regulation of infected per-
account of
the plague, sons, and prevailed with some justices of the peace
in the Strand and in Westminster to promise to re-
side there, (which they were the more easily per-
suaded to do by the general's declaring that he
would stay in his lodgings at Whitehall, which he
did during the whole time of the pestilence ; and
the lord Craven, out of friendship to him, stayed
likewise in his Chouse in Drury-lane : and it cannot
be denied that the presence of those two great per-
sons prevented many mischiefs which would have
fallen out by the disorder of the people, and was of
great convenience and benefit to that end of the
town :) I say, when the king -had settled all this,
he removed to Hampton, resolving there to consider
how to dispose of himself for the remainder of the
summer. And because there were many particulars
still unresolved concerning the business of Ireland,
his majesty for some days appointed that numerous
people, that they might have no pretence to come
to Hampton-Court, to attend at Sion ; where for
many days together his majesty spent many hours,
till he had composed that affair as well as it was for
the present capable of.
The plague still increased at London, and spread
about the country ; so that it was not thought safe
for the court to remain longer where it then was,
the sickness being already in some of the adjacent
villages. Whereupon the king resolved that his
own family and his brother's should remove to Salis-
bury, and spend the summer there. And because
I. '; :
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 405
it was already in view, that it would not be fit for 1665.
the parliament to assemble again at Westminster in~
September, to which lime it was prorogued, nor
could it be computed at what time it could be safe
to meet in that place ; and it was as notorious that
if the parliament met not somewhere, whereby the
king might have another supply before the winter,
there would be very great confusion for want of
money : he caused therefore a proclamation to issue
out, "that he intended to adjourn the parliament to The pariia-
" meet at Oxford upon the tenth of October next,j™rnedto
" and that the members need not to attend atOxford<
" Westminster in September." And then he di-
rected the speaker of the house of commons, who
lived within half a day of London, and the general
and the lord Craven, to give notice to the members
of both houses, who lived within that distance, to
be present in both houses at the day to which they
were prorogued, and then to adjourn- to Oxford ac-
cording to the proclamation. And this being settled,
his majesty appointed a day for beginning his pro-
gress from Hampton-Court to -Salisbury; against
which time all carriages and whatsoever was neces-
sary for the journey were preparedk.
In the morning, when every body believed that Mr. w. Co.
the king and queen and duke and duchess, with suades the
both their families, were to go together one way, s
Mr. Coventry found a way to break that resolution, *™™
having no mind to be in so great a court that his
greatness would not appear. He told the duke
"that there were general discontents throughout
" the kingdom," which was true, " and a probability
** of insurrections," which were much spoken of and
k were prepared] Omitted in MS.
406 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. apprehended; "and therefore it might be better
~" " that the king and the duke might not be together,
" but in several places, that they might draw what
" forces were necessary to them, which the presence
" of their own persons would easily do : that the
" fleet would probably be all the summer upon the
" northern coast in expectation of the Dutch East
" India fleet ;" for it was not then thought that the
Hollanders would have been able to have set out an-
other fleet able to have encountered ours. Upon
the whole matter he proposed to him, "that since
" the king meant to spend the summer in the west,
" with which there could very hardly be any cor-
" respondence from the fleet, his highness should go
" into the north, and reside at York ; by which he
" would have an influence upon all those parts
" where the most disaffected persons were l most in-
** habitant, and from Hull and those maritime parts
" he could not be long without receiving some m in-
" telligence from the fleet."
The truth is; the constitution of the court at
this time was such, the prevalence of the lady so
great, and the queen's humour thereupon so incon-
stant, and all together so discomposed the king, that
there was no pleasure in being a part of it : and
therefore the advice was as soon embraced as given,
by the duke and his wife, who were well content to
enjoy themselves in their own family apart. And
the duke presently proposed it to the king, and Mr.
Coventry discoursed all the motives to him so fully,
that his majesty approved it. And then, if it were
to be done at all, the first attending the king to Salis-
1 were] Omitted in MS. m some] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 407
bury, which was so much out of the way, 'would be 16(15.
to no purpose: and therefore it was resolved (all theTheking
coaches and carriages being then at the doors to go oea™^* to
to Farnham, which was the first day's journey to-
wards Salisbury) that the king and his brother
would part upon the place, and that the king and
queen should continue their purpose for Farnham,
and the duke and his wife should go that night to St.
Alban's, and so prosecute his journey for York; and all
orders were in the instant given out to this purpose.
Whether the reasons of this counsel were of im-
portance or not, the alteration on such a sudden from
what had been before determined was thought very
strange, and wondered at, and made many believe
that some accident was fallen out that must not be
discovered : for on the sudden it was, there having
been no such thought overnight, when the chancel-
lor left the court to go to his own house at Twicken-
ham. And when he returned the next morning, the
resolution was taken, and every body well pleased
with the change, and both the king and the duke
told him wijth satisfaction of it ; nor did he under-
stand it enough to make objections against it, which
would have been ingrateful ; nor was it convenient
to spend longer time in deliberation at that place,
where some of the inferior servants had died the
night before of the plague : and so they all entered
upon their journey by nine of the clock the same
morning.
It is necessary in this place to remember, that the The bishop
express, that had been sent by the bishop of Mun- engages to
ster's agent with the conditions which were offered unT
by the king, returned with great expedition, andv
brought the bishop's acceptation and engagement,
D d 4
408 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " that, upon the payment of the first sum that was
~~ " agreed upon, he would draw his army together,
" and march with an army of twenty thousand horse
" and foot into the States' dominions." And the
king before he left London had signed the treaty,
and made the first payment, and provided for the
second : so that he now expected that the bishop
should be shortly upon his march, and fix his winter-
quarters in those provinces ; which he did resolve
and intend with courage and sincerity, and which in
that conjuncture must have put the counsels of Hol-
land into great confusion, when they began to be
again reduced into some order.
oe wit per- The indefatigable industry and dexterity of the
••u.ult's the
Dutch to pensionary De Wit prevailed with the States to be-
prepare an- _. 1111 i n
other fleet, neve, " that he thought a peace to be necessary tor
" their affairs, and desired nothing but that it might
" be upon honourable and safe conditions, and that
" France was very real in the endeavouring it : but
" that the enemy was so insolent upon their late
" success, that they neglected all overtures, and be-
" lieved that the factions and divisions amongst
" themselves would hinder them from being able to
" set out another fleet ; and therefore that ought to
" be the first design. And if their fleet were ready
" to go out, he doubted not but a peace would quickly
" follow : for that France was engaged, if the king
" should not consent to what is just and reasonable,
" to declare a war against England, and to assist
" them with men and money, and all his own naval
" power, which the duke of Beaufort was then pre-
" paring and making ready in all the ports of France.
" But that it was not to be expected that they would
" send out their fleet, which was much inferior to
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 409
" the English, except they first saw a Dutch fleet at 1665.
" sea ready to join with them." He wished them to
consider " how much they were all concerned in their
" India ships, which were in their voyage, and could
" not be far from their coasts in a short time ; all
" which would inevitably fall into the hands of the
" English, if they had no fleet at sea to relieve
" them."
These reasons, of weight in themselves, and the
concernment of most of them in the preservation of
the Indian ships, prevailed with them to do all that
could be done to set out a new fleet : and to that
purpose they sent very strict and severe orders to their
several admiralties, for the proceeding against all,
without distinction of persons, who had misbehaved
themselves in the late battle, and to provide new
ships and all necessary provisions, to the end that
their fleet might be at sea by a time. And this
grew the more easy to them, by the seasonable re-
turn of De Ruyter with his fleet from Guinea, which
brought a present addition of good strength ; and he
had began the war upon the English, and was the
best sea-officer they had, and had exercised those
commands that no other officer could refuse to obey
him.
For the speedy carrying on these present pre- The Dutch
. , , . . . make a re-
parations, they made, according to their usual cus- formation
torn in extraordinary occurrences, committees of the H^y.1'11
States to assist in the admiralties of Zealand, Am-
sterdam, and Rotterdam ; and to that purpose De
Wit, and such other as he thought fittest at this
time to join with him, were appointed. They went
first to the fleet to reform the disorders there : and
though they durst not proceed with that severity as
410 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. had been fit, yet they cashiered many captains and
""other officers, and put some other marks of disgrace
upon others, and caused one or two to die.
De wit's But that which De Wit's heart was most set upon
malice
against van was to take revenge upon Van Trump, and to re-
move him from ever having any command at sea:
for though he was an excellent officer, and upon the
stock of his father's credit of great estimation with
the seamen, and inferior to no man but De Ruyter,
and had behaved himself in the battle with signal
courage ; yet his dispute with Evertson upon com-
mand had brought much prejudice to them. But
that which was worst of all and incensed De Wit
implacably was, that he was of entire ' devotion to
the prince of Orange, as his father had always been,
and all his children continued to be, and he knew
well had an especial part, how covertly soever, in
fomenting the murmurs of the people against n him
and the war : and he resolved to take this opportu-
nity of the good temper the States were in in their
concurrence for the setting out the fleet, not only to
provide for the better government of their ships and
marine conduct, but to punish and prevent the mur-
murs at land, by removing all those out of any power
whom he suspected to have secretly contributed to
them. He did all he could to make Van Trump's
offence capital, as if the right of command had been
so clear in Evertson that the other could not dis-
pute it : but Van Trump defended himself so well °,
and had so many friends, that he was absolved from
thajt guilt. Yet for some passionate and indiscreet
words, in which he did naturally abound, he was
n against] Omitted in MS. " so well] Not in MS.
"s°f ™e~
EDWARD EA11L OF CLARENDON. 411
deprived of his command, with a declaration, " that ] 665.
** he should no more be employed in the service of
" the States ;" which whilst the government was in
those hands he cared not for, and had a good estate
to subsist without it. And so for the present all
differences were composed so far, as to have a gene-
ral concurrence in whatsoever was necessary, and in
order to the making ready and setting out their fleet
to sea.
The king had been few days at Salisbury before The French
the French and Spanish ambassadors arrived there
and then they made some instance with the king, j"asti°f
that there might be a treaty for peace ; and the Peac
French ambassadors P declared, " that the king their
" master was so far engaged by treaty with the
" Dutch, that if the king would not accept of a just
" and an honourable peace, his majesty must declare
** himself on their behalf, which he was unwilling to
" do." The king answered, " that if there were any
" such engagement he had not been well dealt with ;
** for that the French 'king had given his word to
" him, that he would not enter into any treaty with
" the Dutch but * pari passu ' with his majesty,"
(and when his majesty had been informed that
there was some treaty concluded with them, he was
assured from France " that it was only a treaty of
" commerce, which he had been obliged to enter
" into to prevent an edict in Holland, by which
" strong waters and other French commodities would
" have been inhibited to be brought into those pro-
" virices, but that there was nothing in that treaty
" that could be to his majesty's prejudice :") " that
v the French ambassadors] Not in MS.
412 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " his majesty had been always ready to embrace
" peace, which had been never yet offered by the
" Dutch, nor did he know what conditions they ex-
" pected."
The ambassadors seemed to be much offended
with the insolent behaviour of the Dutch ; and con-
fessed " that they were not solicitous for peace, but
"'only desired to engage the king their master in
" the war : but that if his majesty would make his
" demands, which they presumed would be reason-
" able, the other should be brought to consent to
" them." To which the king replied, " that they had
" begun the war upon him, and not he upon them ;
" and that God had hitherto given him the advan-
" tage, which he hoped he should improve ; and till
" they were as desirous of a peace as he, it would not
" become him to make any propositions." And in
this manner that affair stood whilst the court re-
mained at Salisbury.
And there now fell out an unexpected accident,
which looked as if Providence had been inclined to
repair the mischief and the damage that the plague
had produced to the affairs of the king. It hath
been mentioned before, that upon the first thoughts
of a war with the Dutch, the king had sent Mr.
Henry Coventry to Sweden, and sir Gilbert Talbot
to Denmark, to engage those crowns as far as might
be on his majesty's behalf, both of them being enough
disobliged and provoked by the Dutch.
success of Mr. Coventry in Sweden found a frank and open
reception, avowing a hearty affection to the king,
and an inclination to join in any thing that might
not be destructive to their own affairs : nor did they
dissemble the injuries they had received from the
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 413
Hollander even to the Dutch ambassador himself, 1665.
who was at the same time sent thither to unite that ~
crown to their interest, to which purpose he had
made several specious overtures. Nor did they con-
ceal the jealousy they had of the French, who had
not complied with the payment of the yearly sum of
money which they were obliged to make to them for
the support of their army, of which they were in
a great arrear, that discomposed their affairs very
much. And though M. Pompone, who had been
long resident in that court as an envoy, was now
come thither as ambassador from France, and brought
with him a good sum of money to retain them fast
to their dependance upon them ; yet the money was
not half that was due to them, and they well knew
what dark ends it was for : and they did exceed-
ingly fear the omnipotence of France.
There were two things which kept them from a
full declaration on the king's behalf, and engaging
presently in his interest. The first was the appre-
hension that they had of Denmark, that it would
take this opportunity to unite themselves more
firmly to the Hollander, and so attempt to deprive
Sweden of all their late conquest, which was con-
firmed to them by their own treaty of Copenhagen,
which they were resolved never to part from : and
in this particular they were to expect some satisfac-
tion and security from the negociation of sir Gilbert
Talbot. The other was, that they might see the bi-
shop of Munster fully engaged, upon whose expedi-
tion they had much expectation. And Mr. Coven-
try had informed them of that whole agreement,
which would have given them opportunity to have
1665. prosecuted their own design upon Bremen, to which
"their hearts were most devoted.
And of sir Sir Gilbert Talbot had been as well received in
bot-s to Denmark, with all the professions imaginable of af-
irk> fection to the king, and of their detestation of the
Dutch, who in truth had exercised a strange ty-
ranny over them by the advantage of their necessi-
ties ; nor is the injustice, oppression, and indignities
which they had sustained from them to be expressed
and described, without entering into a large dis-
course of particulars which are foreign to this rela-
tion : let it suffice, that there needed few arguments
to persuade that king to any thing that was within
his power, and which would have done signal mis-
chief to the Dutch. But the truth is, the kingdom
was very poor, the people unwarlike, the king him-
self very good and very weak, jealous of all the
great men, and not yet recovered of the fright that
Wolfelt had put him into. His chief minister, one
Gabell, had gotten his credit by having been his
barber, an illiterate and unbred man, yet his sole
confident in his business of greatest trust; which
made all the persons of quality in the kingdom, who
are as proud of their nobility as any nation, full of
indignation. And they were able to cross many re-
solutions after they were taken, though they could
not establish others in the place ; which made the
king very irresolute and unfixed : so that what was
concluded to-day was reversed or not pursued to-
morrow. They professed a great jealousy of the
Swede, as the greatest argument, but their weak-
ness, against a war with *i the Dutch ; yet were not
<i a war with] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 415
willing to propose any expedients which might se-
cure them against those jealousies. And the king
absolutely denied that he had ever given Hannibal
Zested authority to declare, " that he would again
" confirm the treaty he had made ;" and seemed to
take it unkindly that his majesty should think it
reasonable, who therefore thought it so, because it
was proposed by himself, and because he still con-
fessed, " that he could make no attempt to recover
" what he had parted with." That which he did
unreasonably design, in all the disguises which were
put on, was to engage the king to endeavour to per-
suade the Swede to give up and restore Elsineur
and the other places to Denmark, or to assist him
with force for the recovery of them when there
should be a peace concluded with Holland : so that
the king despaired of any good from that negoci-
ation, and resolved shortly to recall his minister from
thence.
But there was on a sudden a change to wonder. A
Gabell came early in a morning to sir Gilbert Talbot, Of the°at-
and told him, " his master was now resolved to unite
" his interest entirely to that of the Mng of Eng-atBergeiu
" land, having now an opportunity to do it securely
" to both their benefits." He told him, " that there
" were letters arrived that night from Bergen, with
" news that the Dutch East India ships were all
" arrived in that port with orders to remain there
" till they received new orders from Holland, which
" they should have as soon as their fleet should be
" ready to join with them. This had disposed the
" king to resolve to give the king of England op-
" portunity to possess himself of all that treasure,
" out of which he presumed he would allow him ,
416 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " such a share, as might enable him to declare, and
~~" assist his majesty vigorously in his war, against
" the Dutch. That if he gave speedy notice to the
"king's fleet, which every body knew was then at
" sea, it might easily go to Bergen, where they might
" as easily surprise all those ships in the port, since
" they should receive no opposition from the castles
" under whose protection they lay."
And when he had done his relation, he offered
him to go with him to the king, that he might re-
ceive the obligation from himself; which sir Gilbert
Talbot presently did, and found his majesty as cheer-
ful in the resolution as Gabell had been. He re-
peated all that the other had said, and more parti-
cularly " that he thought it reasonable that he might
" expect half of the value that the whole would
" amount to ; which he would rely upon the king's
" honour and justice for, after the ships should be
" in England, that r he might not be suspected by
" the Hollander, for he would protest against8 the
" act as a violence that he could not resist : and
" that l he would expect so many of his majesty's
" ships u to arrive in Denmark, and to assist him,
" before he positively declared against the Dutch."
He wished sir Gilbert Talbot " to send an express
" forthwith to the king with all these particulars ;"
which he did the next day.
This express arrived within few days after the
king came to Salisbury, and was despatched pre-
sently back again with letters to the king of Den-
mark of his majesty's consent and ratification of all
that he had proposed, and with letters likewise to
r that] and that i that] so
* against] Omitted in MS. " ships] Omitted in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 417
the earl of Sandwich, who according to his former 1665.
orders had sailed northward in hope to meet with '
that fleet, which was before got into Norway. The
king's letters to him came in a very good season,
and he immediately continued his course for Nor-
way : and when he came to that length, and near
enough to that land of rocks which are terrible to
all seamen, he thought it best to remain at sea with
his fleet, lest De Ruyter might by this time be come
out with his fleet, (since his being come northward
could not be concealed, nor the arrival of the East
India fleet at Bergen ; which would hasten the other,)
and sent in a squadron of fifteen or sixteen good ships
(of strength sufficient for the business) into the har-
bour of Bergen with a letter to the governor. And
with it he sent in x a gentleman that was a volun-
teer on board him, who hath been often mentioned
before, Mr. Clifford, the confident of the lord Ar-
lington, who was well instructed in all the trans-
actions which had been at Copenhagen. Before
they went into the harbour, Mr. Clifford and another
gentleman or two went by boat to the town, where
he found all the Dutch ships (about a dozen in num-
ber) riding very near the shore, and all under the
protection of the castle, into which they had put
much of their richest lading from the time of their
first coming thither, as to a place of unquestionable
security.
The governor was not surprised with the mes-
sengers or the letter, as appeared by the reception
of both, but seemed troubled that they were come
so soon, before the manner of performing the action
* in] Not in MS.
VOL. II. E 6
418 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. was enough adjusted : he could not deny but " that
" he had received orders from Copenhagen ; but that
" he expected more perfect directions within four
" and twenty hours, and expected likewise the pre-
" sence of the vice-king of Norway, who was his
" superior officer, and would infallibly be there the
" next day." The behaviour of the man was such
as made them believe it sincere, as in truth it was,
for he meant well, and was content that the ships,
which though they were not come into the port did
not ride safe amongst the rocks, should come into
the port, upon assurance that they would not at-
tempt any hostile act without his consent, which
was till all things should be agreed between them :
and so the fleet entered ; which the Dutch perceived
with great consternation, yet changed the posture
of some of their ships, and new-moored the rest, and
put themselves upon their defence.
It is a port like no other that the world knows, a
very great number of formidable rocks, between
each of which the sea runs deep enough for the
greatest ships to ride securely ; so that the ships
were as in so many chambers apart between the
rocks : and the Dutch, which came thither first, had
possessed themselves of that line of the sea that lay
next to the shore, to which they lay so near that
they could descend from their vessels on land ; which
had been much the better for the enterprise, if the
Dane had concurred in it.
It was so late before the English ships had taken
their places, which was as near the Dutch as the
rocks would permit, that they remained quiet all
night, which was spent in consultation between the
commander in chief of the English ships (who was
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 419
a stout and a good officer, but a rough man, who
knew better how to follow his instructions than to
debate the ground of them ; but he was advised by
Mr. Clifford, and conformed to his judgment) and
the governor of the town and castle, who seemed
still inclined not only to suffer the English to do
what they would, but to be willing to act a part in
it himself from the shore, and to expect hourly or-
ders to that purpose, as likewise the arrival of the
vice-king, whose authority was more equal to that
attempt, and who was a man well known to have a
particular reverence for the king, and as particular
a prejudice and animosity against the Dutch. The
night being over, the governor continued all the
next day as desirous and importunate that the
enterprise might be longer deferred ; upon which
there were some choleric words between the go-
vernor and a gentleman of quality who was a volun-
teer on board the ships, which many thought in
some degree irreconciled the governor to the affair.
In conclusion, the commander of the squadron
was willing to think that the governor had rather it
should be done without his declared consent than by
it, and so told him, " that the next morning he was
'* resolved to weigh his anchors and to fall upon the
" Dutch ;" to which the other made such a reply-as
confirmed him in his former imagination. And in
the morning the ships were brought out of their
several channels, and placed as near the sides of the
Dutch as they could be, from whence they resolved
to board them as soon as they had sent their broad-
sides upon them. But they found that the Dutch
had spent their time well ; for in the two days and
two nights that the English had been in the harbour,
E e 2
420 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. besides the unlading the richest of their commodities
~ that were left into the castle, they had drawn all
their ordnance, which lay on that side of the ships
which was to the shore, on land, and planted them
upon a rising ground, that they could shoot over
their own ships upon the English : and a breastwork
was cast up, behind which all the inhabitants of the
town were in arms.
The in sue- ft was a fair warning, and might very well have
persuaded our men to be glad to retire out of the
harbour, which yet they might have done : but their
courage or their anger disposed them to make fur-
ther trial of the governor, for they feared not the
ordnance from the land which the Dutch had plant-
ed, nor the muskets from the breastworks, if the
castle did them no harm, under the power of which
they all were. And so they fell upon their work :
and in some time, and with y the loss of many men
from the ships and from the land, they had dis-
mounted many of the ordnance upon the shore, and
were even ready to board the ships ; when out of
absurd rage or accident a ship or two of the English
discharged some guns both upon the breastworks,
from whence they had received no prejudice, and
upon the town, which beat down some houses. But
then all the muskets from the breastworks were
poured out, and guns from the castle, which killed,
very many common men, and five or six officers of
very good account, and some gentlemen volunteers,
amongst which was Edward Mountague, eldest son
to the lord Mountague of Boughton, and cousin
german to the earl of Sandwich, a proper man and
y with] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 421
well-bred, but not easy to be pleased, and who was ] 665.
then withdrawn from the court, where he was mas-~
ter of the horse to the queen, and in some discon-
tent had put himself on board the fleet with a cap-
tain, without the privity of the earl of Sandwich,
and was now slain. There was now no further ex-
periment to be made, but how they could get to sea,
which might easily have been prevented from the
shore and from the rocks : but from the minute
that they prepared to be gone and gave over shoot-
ing, there was no more done against them, and they
had pilots from the country that carried them safe
out.
The noise of the guns had called the earl of Sand-
wich as near the mouth of the harbour as could
safely be, to discover what became of his squadron ;
so that they came shortly to him with the whole ac-
count of their ill success, and within a short time
after a shallop from the governor7, with a letter
to the officer who had commanded the squadron,
complaining as much as he could do of the misbe-
haviour of the English in shooting upon the town,
and desiring "that Mr. Clifford would give him a
" meeting at a place he appointed, to which the
" shallop should convey him." Mr. Clifford was more
willing to go than the earl was to permit him ; yet
at last upon his earnest desire he consented, and he
put himself into the shallop. It happened that when
the action was over and the English under sail, the
vice-king arrived at Bergen, with two or three regi-
ments of the country ; and the orders were likewise
come from Copenhagen, whereby, at least as they
z from the governor] Not in MS.
E e 3
422 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. pretended, they were required to permit all that the
~" English desired : and the vice-king had caused the
shallop to be sent, and was himself with the gover-
nor at the place whither Mr. Clifford was to come,
and there he spake with them together.
The governor with many protestations excused
himself for shooting from the castle, after the town
was assaulted, and many of the burghers killed, who
had stood in arms only to defend the town, without
being concerned for the Dutch or their ships ; and
made it an argument of his integrity and respect,
" that he had permitted them to depart when it
" was in his power to have sunk them." He com-
plained, " that the commander would not have the
" patience to defer the assault one day longer,
" which if he had done, the orders from Copenhagen
" had been come, and the vice-king had been pre-
" sent with his forces, which would have secured
** the enterprise." The vice-king seemed very much
troubled for what had been done, and earnestly de-
sired " that the same or another squadron might be
" again sent in, when they should be at liberty to do
" what they would upon the Dutch ; and if they
*' stood in need of assistance, they should have as
" much as was necessary."
Mr. Clifford replied to many of the excuses which
were made, and urged " the suffering the Dutch to
** bring their ordnance on shore, and the townsmen
** being in arms to assist them ;" and proposed,
" that they would first begin by seizing upon some
" of their ships, and then that their fleet should an-
" swer :" but this the vice-king did absolutely refuse,
and made another proposition, that startled more,
and was directly new, " that when the English had
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 423
" seized upon all the Dutch ships, they should not 1665.
" have carried any of them away till a perfect divi- ~
" sion of the goods was made, that the king of
" Denmark might have his just proportion." Mr.
Clifford made no answer but " that he would pre-
" sent all that they proposed to the earl of Sand-
" wich, in whom the power of concluding and ex-
" ecuting remained solely :" and so he returned to
the fleet, and they to the town, and expected an
answer.
The earl of Sandwich thought not fit to run any The eari of
more hazards, and was not satisfied that they
proceeded sincerely. But that which most
vailed with him was, that he had received i
gence "that De Ruyter was come out with the
" fleet," and he would not he should find him en-
tangled in those rocks, or obliged to fight with him
upon that coast; and the season of the year now
made that station very unsecure, for it was already
the beginning of October, when those seas run very
high and boisterous : and therefore he resolved to
be master of more sea-room, that he might fight De
Ruyter, if he came ; and if he did not, he might then
meet those East India ships more securely in their
way to Holland, than by making another attempt
in the harbour. And so, after some letters had
passed and repassed between the vice-king and
him, and both the vice-king and governor had
undertaken to keep the Dutch ships there for the
space of six weeks, for they desired to see the suc-
cess of another engagement between the two fleets ;
the earl steered that way with his fleet that most
probably might bring him and De Ruyter together,
which above all things he desired.
E e 4
424 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. This whole affair of Bergen and the managery
Tbe au_ thereof was so perplexed and intricate, that it was
thor-s re. never clearly understood. That which seemed to
flections J
upon this have most probability was, that as soon as the
Dutch fleet came to Bergen, they had unladen
many of their richest commodities and put them
into the castle, before the governor had received his
orders from Copenhagen : and so both his own and
his master's faith and honour were engaged to dis-
charge the trust, of which he made haste to send an
account to the king, and thereupon expected new
directions, which were not arrived when the English
fleet came thither. And when they did come,
whether that court, according to its custom, did
change its mind, and believe they should make a
better bargain by keeping what was already depo-
sited in their hands in the castle, than by making
an uncertain division with the king; or whether
they did in truth continue firm to the first agree-
ment, and that the messenger was stopped by ex-
traordinary accidents in his journey, (which was po-
sitively alleged,) so that he did not arrive in time ;
or whether the governor was not able to master the
town that was much inclined to the Hollanders,
before the vice-king came with his troops, who did
make all possible haste as soon as he heard that the
English were arrived ; or whether the English did
proceed more unadvisedly and rashly than they
ought to have done ; remains still in the dark :
and both parties reproached each other afterwards,
as they found most necessary for their several
defences and pretences ; of which more hereafter.
The king The king stayed not altogether so long at Salis-
eourt re- bury as he had intended to have done : for besides
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 425
a little accidental indisposition which made him dis- 1 665.
like the air, some inferior servants and their wives more to
came from London or the villages adjacent, and°xford'
brought the plague with them ; so that the court
removed to Oxford before the end of September,
the parliament being to assemble there on the tenth
of the next month. And before he left Salisbury,
his majesty sent an express to York to his brother,
" that he would meet him as soon as he could."
The duke had lived in great lustre in York all that
summer, with the very great respect and continual
attendance of all the persons of quality of that large
county : and the duke no sooner received his ma-
jesty's summons than he took post, and left his wife
and family to follow by ordinary journeys, and him-
self came to Oxford the next day after the king,
where there were indeed matters of the highest im-
portance to be consulted and resolved.
The king had sent Mr. Clifford to Denmark to be
satisfied, upon conference with sir Gilbert Talbot,
concerning the miscarriage at Bergen, and if the
ships remained still there according to the promise
the vice-king had made, and if that king were
ready to perform what he had undertaken, that all
particulars might be so adjusted that there might
be no further mistake ; and if he found that the jea-
lousy of Sweden was a real obstruction to that
alliance, that he should make a journey to Sweden,
and upon conference with Mr. Coventry, who by
his dexterity and very good parts had reconciled the
affections of that court to a very great esteem of
him, endeavour a to remove all those obstructions :
and as soon as his majesty should receive full infor-
a endeavour] to endeavour
426 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. mation of that whole affair, he must consider what
~he was to do to vindicate himself in that business
of Bergen ; for he knew well that he must suffer
with all the world, for violating the peace of a port
that was under the government of a neighbour
prince with whom he was allied, if he did not make
it appear that he had the consent of that prince,
which he was not willing to do till he first knew
what that king would do.
A further jn fae next place his majesty was to resolve what
negotiation •> J
with the answer to make to the French ambassadors, who
French am- -i • i /» i- -, • •
bassadors. now desired trequcnt audiences, and positively de-
clared, " that their master was engaged by his
*' treaty with the Dutch, that in case they were in-
" vaded or assaulted by any prince, he would assist
" them with men, money, and ships, which he had
** hitherto deferred to do out of respect to the king,
" and in hope that he would accept his mediation,
** and make such propositions towards peace as he
" might press the others to consent to." The Dutch
ambassador was likewise come to town, rather to
treat concerning the prisoners and to observe what
the French ambassadors did, than that he had any
thing to propose in order to peace, there appearing
now since their fleet was at sea more insolence in
the Dutch, and a greater aversion from the peace,
than had been formerly.
The king complained to the ambassadors of the
French king's proceedings, " that the entering into
** that treaty was expressly against his word given to
" the king : that the Dutch had first began the war,
•' and ought to make the first approach towards
" peace, but that their b ambassador had no instruc-
b their] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 427
" tion to make any such instance; and therefore it 1665.
" seemed very strange to his majesty, that the ~
" French king should press for that which they had
" no desire to have."
The ambassadors confessed " that the Dutch did
" not desire a peace ; that they thought they were
" too much behindhand, and that they had at pre-
" sent great advantages ; that they looked upon the
" great plague in London" (which continued in its
full rage and vigour, insomuch as at that time in the
end of September there died not so few as six thou-
sand in the week, amongst which some were of the
best quality in the city) " as of such insupportable
" damage to the king, that he would not be able to
" set out another fleet the year following : and
" therefore that, when they had been pressed by the
" French king to make some propositions towards
" peace, he could get no other answer from them,
" than that they expected that the island of Pole-
" roone should be released to them, and that the
" fort at Cabo Corso in Guinea should be thrown
" down and slighted ; which they confessed was an
" insolent proposition. That they complained that
" the king their master, instead of giving them the
" assistance he was obliged to do, spent the time in
" procuring a peace, which they cared not for : so
" that," they said, " their master continued the same
" Christian office principally to do his majesty of
" Great Britain a service, who he in truth believed
" would be reduced to great straits by the terrible
" effect of the plague ; and in the next place to de-
" fend himself from entering into the war, which he
" could no longer defer to do, if his majesty did not,
" by consenting to some reasonable overture, give
428 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " him a just occasion to press them to yield to it;
~~ " and in that case he would behave himself in that
" manner that the king should have no cause to
" complain of his partiality." The king's indigna-
tion was so provoked by the pride and impudence of
the Dutch demands, that he gave the ambassadors
no other answer, than " that he hoped God Al-
v mighty had not sent that heavy judgment of the
" plague upon him and his people on the behalf of
" the Hollanders, and to expose him to their inso-
" lerice."
Tlie parliament convened at Oxford in greater
""oxford.* numbers than could reasonably have been expected,
the sickness still continuing to rage and spread itself
in several counties ; so that between the danger that
was in the towns infected, and the necessary severity
hi other towns to keep themselves from being in-
fected, it was a very inconvenient season for all per-
sons of quality to travel from their own habitations.
Upon the tenth of October the king commanded
both houses to attend him in Christ Church hall,
The ting's and told them, " that he was confident they did all
. " believe, that if it had not been absolutely neces-
" sary to consult with them, he would not have
" called them together at that time, when the con-
" tagion had spread itself over so many parts of the
" kingdom : and he thanked them for their compli-
" ance so far with his desires."
His majesty said, " the truth was ; as he had en-
" tered upon the war by their advice and encou-
" ragement, so he desired that they might as fre-
" quently as was possible receive information of the
" effects and conduct of it, and that he might have
" the continuance of their cheerful supply for the
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 429
" carrying it on. He would not deny to them, that 1665.
" it had proved more chargeable than he could ima- ~~
" gine it would have been : the addition the enemy
" had still made to their fleets, beyond their first
" purpose, made it unavoidably necessary for him to
" make proportionable preparations, which God had
" hitherto blessed with success in all encounters.
" And as they had used their utmost endeavours by
" calumnies and false suggestions to gain friends to
" themselves, and to persuade them to assist them
" against him, so he had not been wanting to en-
" courage those princes who had been wronged by
" the Dutch, to recover their own by force ; and in
" order thereunto, he had assisted the bishop of
" Munster with a great sum of ready money, and
" was to continue a supply to him, who he believed
" was at that time in the bowels of their country
" with a powerful army.
" Those issues, which he might tell them had
" been made with very much conduct and hus-
" bandry, (nor indeed did he know that any thing
" had been spent that could have been well and
" safely saved ;)" he said, " those expenses would
" not suffer them to wonder, that the great supply
" which they gave him for this war in so bountiful a
" proportion was upon the matter already spent : so
" that he must not only expect an assistance from
" them to carry on that war, but such an assistance
" as might enable him to defend himself and them
" against a more powerful neighbour, if he should
" prefer the friendship of the Dutch before his."
He put them in mind, " that when he entered
" upon this war, he had told them, that he had not
" such a brutal appetite as to make war for war's
430 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
J665. " sake ; he was still of the same mind : he had been
" ready to receive any propositions that France had
" thought fit to offer to that end, but hitherto no-
" thing had been offered worthy his acceptance ;
" nor was the Dutch less insolent, though he knew .
" no advantage they had got but the continuance of
" the contagion, and he hoped that God Almighty
" would shortly deprive them of that encourage-
" ment."
Substance The chancellor at the same time, by the king's
of the chan- J
command, made a short narrative of the history of
the war, the circumstances with which it was be-
gun, and the progress it had since made, and the
victory that the duke had attained; of the vast
number of the prisoners and sick and wounded men,
a charge that had never been computed.
He told them, " the French king had indeed of-
" fered his mediation, and that if he intended no more
" than a mediation, it was an office very worthy the
" most Christian king : he wished, that as a mediator
" he would make equal propositions, or that he
" would not so importunately press his majesty to
" consent to those he makes, upon an instance and
" argument, that he holds himself engaged by a for-
" mer treaty (of which his majesty had never heard
" till since the beginning of the war, and had some
" reason to have presumed the contrary) to assist
" the Dutch with men and money, if his majesty
" would not consent."
He said, " his majesty had told them, that he had
" no appetite to make war for war's sake ; but he
" would be always ready to make such a peace as
" might be for his honour and the interest of his
" subjects = And no doubt it would be a great trouble
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 431
" and grief to his majesty to find so great a prince, 1665
" towards whom he had manifested so great an af-~~
" fection, in conjunction with his enemies : yet even
" the apprehension of such a war would not terrify
" him to purchase a peace by such concessions as he
" should be ashamed to make them acquainted with ;
" of which nature they would easily believe the pro-
" positions hitherto made to be, when they knew
" the release of Poleroone in the East Indies, and
" the demolishing the fort of Cabo Corso upon the
" coast of Guinea, were two ; which would be upon
" the matter to be contented with a very vile trade
" in the East Indies under their control, and with
" none in Guinea. And yet those are not propo-
" sitions unreasonable enough to please the Dutch,
" who reproached France for interposing for peace,
" instead of assisting them in the war, boldly in-
" sisting upon the advantage the contagion in Lon-
" don and some other parts of the kingdom gives
" them ; by which, they confidently say, the king
" will be no longer able to maintain a fleet against
" them at sea."
He told them, " that he had fully obeyed the
" command that had been laid upon him, in making
" that plain, clear, true narrative of what had pass-
" ed ; he had no order to make reflection upon it, nor
"any deduction from it: the king himself had told
" them, that the noble, unparalleled supply they had
" already given him is upon the matter spent, spent
" with all the animadversions of good husbandly
" that the nature of the affair would bear. What
" was more to be done he left to their own generous
" understandings, being not more assured of any
" thing that was to come in this world, than that the
432, CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 665. " same noble indignation for the honour of the king
~ " and the nation, that first provoked them to inflame
" the king himself, would continue the same passion
" still boiling in their loyal breasts ; that all the
" world may see, which they never hoped to have
" seen, that never prince and people were so entirely
" united in their affections, for their true, joint, in-
" separable honour, as their only sure infallible expe-
** dient to preserve their distinct several interests."
A further The king could not expect or wish a fuller con-
g^Jd. currence from a parliament than he now found.
With very little hesitation they declared, " that they
" would supply his majesty with another million,
" (ten hundred thousand pounds :)" and because
they desired to be dismissed as soon as might be to
their several habitations, not without apprehension
that so great a concourse of persons from all places,
even from London itself, (for the term was likewise
adjourned to Oxford,) might bring the contagion
thither likewise ; they rejected all other businesses
but what immediately related to the public. To
the supply they designed to the king they added
the sum of above forty thousand pounds, which they
desired his majesty to confer upon the duke, having
received some insinuation, " that it would not be
" ingrateful to the king that such a present should
An act for « be made to his brother." Then they passed two
attainting o i» i/»ti*»
the English or three acts ot parliament very much for the king s
honour and security, amongst which one was, " for
" the attainting all those his subjects who either re-
" sided in Holland" (as some of the English officers
who had long served in that country presumed still
to do) " and continued in their service, or in any
" other parts beyond the seas, if they did not ap-
service.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 4433
" pear at a day prefixed, after notice by the king's 1C65.
" proclamation :" and the nomination of the persons "~
was entirely left to his majesty.
His majesty did hope, that this very good car-
riage in the parliament would have made some im-
pression upon France, either to have given c over
their mediation, or to have drawn reasonable and
just concessions from the States : but it did pro-
duce the contrary. The Hollander had received a
new damage which inflamed them exceedingly,
which shall be particularly mentioned in the next
place, whereupon they made grievous complaints to
France of its breach of faith upon the promises that
had been made to them. Thatd king upon this
required his ambassadors once more to make a lively
instance to his majesty, " that he would declare
" what he meant to insist upon in order to a peace,
" which if he should refuse to do, they should take
" their leaves and return into France with all pos-
" sible expedition." In this audience they spake in
a higher style than they had formerly used. They The French
complained " of the intolerable damage the subjects dors re-
" of France had sustained in their goods and estates
" by the king's ships, and those who were licensed English*''6
" by his authority, which without any distinction
" seized upon all that came in their way as if they
" were Dutch : and when they complained to the
" admiralty or to the lords commissioners, they could
" procure no justice, and were obliged to such e an
" attendance and expense, that what they sued for
" did not prove of value to satisfy the charge of the
" prosecution ; and if after a long and a tedious so-
c have given] give d That] The e such] Not in MS.
VOL. II. F f
434 CONTINUATION OR THE LIFE OF
1665. " licitation they did at last procure a sentence for the
~~ " redelivery of what had been taken from them,
" when they hoped to enjoy the benefit of this just
" sentence by the execution, they found the goods
" embezzled in the port or plundered by the seamen,
" that the owners had rarely a third part of their
" goods ever restored to them. And that by this
" violence and unjust proceeding, of which they had
" often made complaint, the French merchants had
" lost near five hundred thousand pistoles ; which
" their master resented and looked upon as a great
" indignity to himself, which he had hitherto borne,
" in hope that the license would have been restrained
" by the end of the war."
They urged it as an argument of their master's
friendship to the king, " that after an offensive treaty
" had been so long since entered into by him, by
" which he was obliged to assist the Dutch with
" men, money, and ships, he had notwithstanding
" hitherto forborne it, and looked on whilst they
" were soundly beaten, and had lately sustained
" another blow ; and that it was not possible for
" him to defer it longer :" and so concluded with
very earnest persuasions, " that his majesty would
" consent to such a peace as their master should
"judge to be reasonable, who could not but be very
" just to his majesty ;" and wished, " that it might
" be considered, besides the damage by the plague,
" which nobody knew how long it might continue,
" how impossible it was for the king to sustain the
" arms of France in conjunction with those of
" Holland, when possibly some other prince might
" join likewise with them."
They who were appointed by the king to confer
EDWARD EARL OF CjLARENDON. 435
with the ambassadors were most perplexed to justify JG6f>.
their first charge, " of the depredation that had A confer_
"been made upon the French merchants," which e"cebe~
* tween them
had in truth been very great, though not amounting and the
to the sum they mentioned. Yet to that they an- ministers
swered, " that the damage and loss which the sub- rePmon- "
" jects of France had undergone that way had ori-strance"
" ginally proceeded from themselves, and their own
" default in owning the goods and merchandise of
" the Dutch to belong to themselves as their proper
" goods, and in undertaking to carry and deliver
" the wine and other goods, which were bought and
" paid for in France by the Hollanders, in French
" vessels in that country ; all which had been fully
" and notoriously proved, and could not be contra-
" dieted : and when that discovery was once made,
" it was no wonder if the seamen sometimes seized
" upon some vessels which were not liable to the
" same reproach. But when any complaints of that
" kind had been made, the king had always given
" strict charge to the judges to cause restitution to
" be made, and the transgressors to be severely pu-
" nished ; and his majesty presumed that the judges
" had done their duty. For the French king's being
" bound by his treaty to assist the Hollanders," they
Said, " that if the king had any such obligation upon
" him, it was subsequent to his obligation to his
" majesty, by which he was bound to make no such
" treaty : nor in truth did they believe that he had
" entered into any such treaty ? for if it were only
" such as they themselves stated it to be, a defen-
" sive league, it would neither engage nor excuse
" France in giving assistance to them who had done
" the wrong and begun the war ; and therefore if
F f 2
436 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 665. " the king was in truth bound to assist them, it must
~ " be from some offensive, not defensive clause."
The ambassadors replied, " that their master con-
" eluded that their king was the aggressor, and then
" the defensive article did oblige him ;" and they
acknowledged there was no other. It was answer-
ed, " that the king had assumed a power to judge
" upon a matter of fact of which he had taken no
" examination ; and that it was a partiality not agree-
" able to the office of a judge, to believe what the
" Dutch said, and not to believe what the king said,
" who had clearly published the true history of the
" fact ; and that it was notorious, and not possible
" to be denied, that they had refused to deliver Pole-
" roone according to their treaty, and that De Ruyter
" had begun the war in Guinea before one of their
" ships had been seized on by the king." To which
they replied, " that their master thought otherwise,
" and did look upon the king as aggressor." When
they were urged with the violation of the former
obligation by entering into the latter, all the answer
they gave was, " that they knew nothing of it, and
" that they had commission only to treat upon the
" present state of affairs, and not upon what had
" passed long before ;" and so, according to the cha-
racter they underwent near fourteen hundred years
since, " Galli ridentes fidem fregerunt."
The counsellors of the king told them, " that
" their master had very well considered the disad-
" vantage he must undergo by the access of so pow-
" erful a friend, and of whose friendship he had
" thought himself possessed, to the part of his ene-
" mies, who were too insolent already ; and there-
" fore to prevent that disadvantage, he had and
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 437
" would do any thing that would consist with the
" dignity of a king : but that he must be laughed
" at and despised by all the world, if he should con-
" sent to make him the arbitrator of the differences
" who had already declared himself to be a party,
" and that he is resolved to make war against him
"on the behalf of his enemy ; and that such menaces
" would make no impression in the last article of
" danger that could befall the king." The ambas-
sadors took that expression of menaces very heavily,
as if it were a tax upon their manners, and said
" they had never used words that could imply a
" menace." To which it was replied, " that there
" was no purpose to make any reflection upon their
" persons, who had always carried themselves with
" great respect to the king, and who his majesty be-
" lieved did in their own particular affection wish
" him better than they did the Dutch : however the
" declaring, that if the king did not do this or that,
" the French king would make war upon him, could
" in no language be looked upon to have any other
"signification than of a menace and threat." This
raised a little warmth on both sides, which made
the conference break off at that time.
The ambassadors prepared to be gone ; and the
king discerned clearly that there was no way to
divert the French from an entire conjunction with
the Dutch : and thereupon he assembled his secret
council together again, to consult what should be
the final answer his majesty -should give to the
French ambassadors at parting. There was no per-
son present, who had not a deep apprehension of the
extreme damage and danger that must fall upon the
Ff8
438 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. king's affairs, if in this conjuncture France should
""declare a war against England.
The pros- It was well known, that the duke of Beaufort
kfng-s af-e was forthwith to be at Brest, where all the French
ume.at "s king's ships were to assemble at their rendezvous by
Christmas ; that the French king f had already sent
to the bishop of Munster to dissuade him from pro-
secuting his enterprise against Holland, and that pro-
bably he might unite Denmark again to the Dutch,
and probably even allay those warm inclinations
which the Swede had for the king. It was well
known, that the French king had in the last dis-
tractions in Holland contributed very much to the
composing them, and to the support of the power
and credit of De Wit, who was the soul of the war,
and that he had sent him one hundred thousand
pistoles, without which they would have hardly been
able to have set out their last fleet under De Ruyter.
And ^above all this, his giving life to some domestic
rebellion in England and in Ireland, by sending mo-
ney to discontented persons, was apprehended : for
as there were enough discontented and desperate per-
sons in the latter, who wanted only arms and money
to declare for any prince who would take them into
his protection ; so % it was well known that there
was a general combination amongst those of the
late army to have risen, if the duke of York had
been defeated at sea, and that it was that victory
that disappointed that intended insurrection. That
there had been a later design, in the very height of
this dismal sickness and contagion, in London, (whi-
f the French king] he s so] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 439
ther the fanatic party had repaired from all the 1665.
quarters of the kingdom, and had appointed a day ~
upon which the general should be assassinated, which
some soldiers of his own regiment had undertaken,
and then the whole rendezvous xwas to be in several
streets at the same time ;) which in so formidable a
conjuncture might have succeeded to a great degree,
if by God's blessing it had not been discovered two
days before to the general, who caused some of the
chief conspirators to be apprehended, who suffered
afterwards by the hand of justice. And yet the
chief amongst them, colonel Danvers, who in spite
of all the vigilance that could be used had been al-
ways searched for and always concealed from the
time of the king's return, being at this time appre-
hended and brought before the general, and by him
sent with a lieutenant and a guard of soldiers to the
Tower, was rescued in Cheapside, and so escaped,
all the citizens looking on without aiding the officer.
This was the prospect that the king had of his
condition and affairs in this consultation : and there-
fore if any thing could have occurred that might
probably have diverted this storm, it would no doubt
have been embraced. But then the exceeding breach
of faith in entering into that treaty, the denying it
afterwards, and concealing his engagement by it so
long after the war was entered into, (which if he
had not done, the king could never have looked
upon him as a fit mediator,) and the impossibility
of depending upon any thing -that should be pro-
mised for the future, were convincing arguments
against any such reference of the conditions to his
determination as was proposed, and was the only
expedient that was proposed towards the making a
Ff 4
440 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. peace. It was well known that the chief counsels
of France, since monsieur Colbert entered upon the
ministry, had been directed towards the advance-
ment of manufactures at home, by which they might
have less need of commerce with their neighbours ;
and for the erecting a trade h abroad, with which
they had been very little acquainted in former times.
And it was justly to be feared, that where the judg-
ment was left to them, they would imitate the in-
famous Roman precedent, of adjudging that to
themselves that was in difference between their
neighbours and left to their decision : and so both
Poleroone in the East Indies, and Cabo Corso for
the West, must be determined to belong to them ;
which might be the rather apprehended, by their
having erected an East India company and a West
India company, before they had any visible founda-
tion for a trade in either, to which both these places
might carry with them great conveniences.
A final an- These considerations being seriously reflected upon,
with a little generous indignation to find himself
thus treated, prevailed with the king to lay aside
all thoughts of further complying with France, and
to resolve to dismiss the ambassadors without any
other answer, than what should contain complaints,
" of the French king's want of kindness, which his
" majesty had cultivated by all the offices he could
" perform since his restoration, which did not re-
" ceive an equal return, by the preferring the friend-
" ship of the Dutch before that of his majesty."
They leave And with this answer the ambassadors were dis-
the king-
dom, missed, with liberal presents and all gracious de-
h a trade] a foreign trade
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 441
monstrations of esteem of their persons, and so 1665.
returned for France, where they always gave just
testimony of the civilities and fair treatment they
had received.
But this resolution increased the king's appetite
to peace, and made him think of all other expedi-
ents that might contribute to it ; and none seemed
so hopeful, as that France and Holland might be
divided : and he would have been very willing to A prospect
have agreed with Holland upon any reasonable con- France and
ditions, that he might continue the war with France ; Holland-
which there were many reasonable inducements to
hope might be brought to pass. It was notorious,
that preparations had been made for two or three
years past by France at a very great expense upon
the borders, that they might be ready to enter
into Flanders as soon as news should arrive of the
king of Spain's death ; and that war would immedi-
ately fall out as soon as that king's decease should
be known, which from his age and infirmities must
be expected every day : and in that case the friend-
ship could not continue long with Holland, which
thought that France was already too near a neigh-
bour to them, to be willing that they should be nearer
by a conquest of Flanders, which with its own force
could not make an equal resistance. It was likewise
as notorious that all the other provinces, Holland
only excepted, did impatiently desire the peace; and
Holland had only been restrained from the same
impatience by the sole credit" and authority of De
Wit, and by his persuading them, " that France
" would assist them with men, money, and ships, and
*' likewise declare a war. against England, which"
442 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. (as hath been said before) " would produce a peace
~ " upon such conditions as would make it happy to
" them :" and that though it was true that it had
indeed assisted them with some money, it was not
considerable to their vast expenses, nor in truth of
importance in comparison of the other, which it was
equally obliged to do, and had performed nothing.
And it was evident that Holland itself was jealous
of those proceedings ; and even De Wit, in his pri-
vate discourses to other ministers, seemed to be much
unsatisfied with their breach of faith, and not to be
without apprehension that they would in the end
enter into a stricter alliance with England, and leave
Holland as a prey to both.
The Spanish ambassador, who always desired that
the peace might be established between the English
and the Dutch, and that they would both join with
Spain in a defensive league, into which Denmark
would be glad to enter, and Sweden might be drawn
in upon the same conditions which they now re-
ceived from France, towards which he had often de-
sired the king to interpose, was now very glad that
the French ambassadors had taken their leaves and
were gone ; and he pretended to have many assu-
rances from the Spanish ambassador at the Hague,
that the Dutch had those inclinations which are
mentioned before, " and that De Wit would be glad
" to confer in private with any man trusted by the
" king, if he might be sure that it should not be
" communicated to France." Upon all these proba-
bilities, and the certainty that no good could be ex-
pected from France, his majesty resolved to embrace
all opportunities to agree with Holland ; towards
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 443
which he had a secret intelligence, to which he gave 1665.
more credit than to all the rest, which shall be~
mentioned hereafter.
There were so many great transactions during the
king's residence in Oxford, besides what was done
in the parliament and what related to the dismission
of the French ambassadors, so many counsels which
were executed, and so many secret designs only ini-
tiated then, and not executed till long after, that
there cannot be too particular a recollection of the
occurrences of all that time. And if some things
are mentioned which seem too light and of too small
importance to have a place in this relation, they will
be found at last to be the rise and principal ingre-
dient to some counsel and resolution, which proved
afterwards of consequence enough, as well to the
public as to the interest of particular persons.
The first attempt that was made was to make a AD attempt
breach between the chancellor and the treasurer, friendship
who had been long fast friends, and were believed
to have most credit with the king; and they whoan^trea*
loved neither of them thought the most likely way
to hurt them was to make them love one another
less. Several attempts had been made upon the
chancellor to that purpose without effect : he knew
the other too well to be shaken in the esteem he had
of his friendship, and the knowledge he had of his
virtue.
But there was now an accident fell out, that gave
them an opportunity to suggest to the treasurer,
" that the chancellor had failed in his friendship to-
" wards him." The occasion was upon the vacancy The occa.
of an office near the queen by the death of Mr. 8lonoflU
Mountague, master of the horse to her majesty, who
444 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. had been killed before Bergen : and the news arriv-
ing with the duke at York, before it was known at
Salisbury to the king, the duke and his wife writ to
the king and to the queen " to confer that place
" upon his younger brother," who was now become
both the eldest and the only son to his father, the
lord Mountague of Boughton ; and the gentleman
himself, on whose behalf the letters were writ, came
himself by post with them within two or three
hours after the news was brought to Salisbury, and
he brought likewise a letter from the duchess to the
chancellor, " to assist the gentleman all he could
" in his pretence," he at the same time enjoying
the same office under the duchess that his brother
had under the queen.
The chancellor had never used to interpose in
matters of that nature, nor had he any acquaintance
with this gentleman who was now recommended :
yet he could not refuse to wait upon the queen, and
shew her the letter he had received, without any
intention to appear further in it. But when he
waited upon the queen, who had received her letter
before, her majesty seemed graciously disposed to
gratify the gentleman, if the king approved it ; but
said, " that she would make no choice herself of any
" servant without knowing first his majesty's plea-
" sure :" and she added, " that she had been in-
" formed, that the lord Mountague was very angry
" with his son that was unfortunately slain, for hav-
" ing taken that charge in her family, and that he
" never allowed him any thing towards his support ;
" and if all other obstructions were out of the way,
" she would not receive him, except she were first
" assured that his father would like and desire it."
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 445
Her majesty vouchsafed to wish the chancellor " to 1665.
" speak with the king, and as dexterously as he could ~~
" to dispose him to recommend Mr. Mountague to
" her, as just and reasonable, since his brother had
" lost his life in his service."
This command of her majesty obliged the chan-
cellor to wait upon the king, and to shew him the
letter he had received from the duchess ; and at the
same time the king g«ve him that which he had
from the duke, in which his highness desired him,
" that if that place was not presently conferred upon
" Mr. Mountague, his majesty would not dispose of
" it till he waited upon him." The chancellor told
him, " that the queen gave no answer, but referred
" it entirely to his majesty." And he said, " he
" would never recommend any person to her but
" such a one as would be very grateful to her." He
said, " it would seem very hard to deny one brother
" to succeed another who was killed in his service."
He confessed, " that the lord Crofts had moved him
" on the behalf of Mr. Robert Spencer, of whom he
" had a good opinion : but that he had answered
" him, that he would not do any thing in it till
"he saw his brother ; which resolution he would
" keep." To which the chancellor made no reply,
having in his own private inclinations and affection
much more kindness for Mr. Spencer, of whose pre-
tence he had never received the least intimation
before, than for the other, with whom he had spoken
very few words in his life. He told Mr. Mountague
no more but that which the king himself had told
him, " that he would not dispose of the place till
" the duke should arrive ;" only he added what
the queen had said of his father, and advised him
446 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1G65. to think of the way to remove that obstruction.
~ Whereupon he resolved to make a journey to his fa-
ther, which he knew he might well do before the
king and his brother could meet.
The same night Mr. Spencer came to the chan-
cellor, and brought him a letter from the treasurer
(whose nephew he was, and who was unfortunately
gone out of the town the day before to a house of
his own twenty miles distant) to recommend his ne-
phew to the queen, to whom and to the king he had
likewise letters. The chancellor gave him an ac-
count of all that had passed, shewed him the letter
that he had received from the duchess, and told him
what the queen and the king had said, and " that it
" was not possible for him to do him service, for
" which he was very sorry ;" but advised him " to
" deliver both his letters, and to attend their ma-
" jesties, who he was confident had yet taken no re-
" solution :" with all which he was very well satis-
tisfied, and confessed " he could not expect that he
" should appear for him." When he delivered his
letters to both their majesties, he received so gra-
cious an answer from both, that he might reasonably
expect1 his suit to be granted, though the king told
him, " he would not dispose of the place till he
" spake with his brother." And there is no doubt
but if the lord treasurer had been in the town when
the news first came to the king of Mr. Mountague's
death, which was a whole day before the arrival of
the duke's letter, the king or queen would not have
denied him his request.
Within a short time after Mr. Spencer had left
1 expect] Omitted in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 447
him, the lord Crofts, who had married his sister, and ifi65.
was governed by the lord Arlington, came to the""
chancellor, and desired him " to take care, out of
" his friendship with the treasurer, that the king
" might not refuse to gratify him in this suit for his
" nephew, which was the first he had ever made ;
" and if he should be denied, it would exceedingly
" trouble him. That when he spake to the king of
" it, as soon as the news came, and told him, he was
" sure that the treasurer would be a suitor to him
" for his nephew, his majesty did promise him that
" he should have it ; and that both their majesties
" had as good as said the same now to Robert
" Spencer : and therefore, if he would now use his
" credit, the thing might be despatched presently,
"^nd without further delay." **y^
The chancellor asked him, " whether Mr. Spencer
" had informed him of all that had passed between
" them two :" he said, " yes ; and that he had done
" all that the duchess had desired him, in speaking
" both to the king and queen, and that his friendship
" to the lord treasurer should prevail with him to
" use all his endeavours for his nephew." Where-
upon the chancellor shewed the duchess's letter, and
repeated to him again all that he had formerly said
to Mr. Spencer, and asked him, " what the duke
" and his wife must think of him, if, instead of pur-
" suing what they desired, he should solicit quite
" contrary to it." He said, " that he might tell
" them that he was engaged by the lord treasurer
" before he received their letter;" and then talked
passionately and indiscreetly " of the affront the
" treasurer would think he received, if this were de-
" nied him; and that all the world would say, that
448 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " he might have compassed it, if he had not failed
"• in his friendship." To which he made no other
answer, than " that the doing so base a thing as he
*' desired would more probably destroy that friend-
" ship with a man so punctual in honour and justice
" as the treasurer was, than any thing that he had
" done or should leave undone ;" and advised him
" not to make the business worse by his activity,
" and that if he had the king's and queen's promise,
" as he pretended, he might very well acquiesce till
" the duke came."
However, his very great indiscretion and pre-
sumption made the thing much worse, by deliver-
ing messages from the king to the queen, and from
her majesty to the king, that they both disavowed,
and by his usual discourses, " that it should now
" appear who had the most credit with the king,
" the duke or the treasurer, and how much the king
" would suffer, if he disobliged the treasurer;" all
which was quickly transmitted by the intelligence
that was every day sent to York. On the other
hand, he still advised the treasurer " to continue his
" importunity to the king and queen," (a thing the
most contrary to his nature,) and assured him, " that
" it would be grateful to them, and was expected
" by them." Whereupon, as soon as the treasurer
came to the court, which was not till the king came
to Oxford, he went to both their majesties, and re-
newed his suit to them with more warmth and con-
cernment than was customary to him, and received
such an answer from both as very well satisfied him :
and without doubt the king intended to persuade his
brother to desist from pressing him further on the
behalf of the other, for whom he had no kindness.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 449
But the duke, who arrived by post the very next 1665.
day, came in another temper than was expected.
The intelligence from Salisbury of the contest that
was for that place, and the insolent behaviour and
expressions used by the lord Crofts, had exceedingly
moved him, and he looked upon the treasurer as
engaged to try who had the greatest power, and ask
in opposition to him : so that the same night that he
came to town, when the king and he were in pri-
vate, he complained of it with much warmth ; and
he besought his majesty importunately " that he
" would declare, that the world might know who had
" most interest in his favour, he or the treasurer."
The king was so much put out of the method he
intended to use in this affair, knowing that the ex-
pressions the duke had mentioned had been too often
used by the lord Crofts, for which he had often re-
prehended him, that he presently applied that re-
medy which he thought most proper; and, after
conference with the queen, signed the warrant for
admitting Mr. Mountague into the office, who was
sworn the next morning : so that the first news the
treasurer heard, after both their majesties had the
day before said all to him that he could desire, was,
that the place was already full ; which he received
with more commotion than was natural to him, and
looked upon it as a designed contrived affront, to
expose him to contempt. " Why would not the
" king, if he had changed his mind after he left
fl him, first send him word of it, that he might have
" known his purpose ?"
All this storm fell presently upon the chancellor :
k as] Not in MS.
VOL. II. G g
450 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. the lord Crofts assured him, " that it had been done
~" at Salisbury, if he had not hindered it; that he
" had been with the duke before he spake with
" the king, and given him advice what tune he
" should speak in, which was used accordingly, and
" had prevailed ; and that when he came into the
" duke's chamber to kiss his hand, his highness
" turned away, and would not speak to him, which
" must proceed from the influence of the chancellor."
Whereas in truth the chancellor had only seen the
duke in public, and said no more to him than what
he said in public, thinking it no good manners to
trouble him with any private discourse, when he
was so weary of his journey ; nor did he know that
any thing was done in that affair till the day after
it was done, and after it was known to the treasurer.
Upon the 'whole matter, how unwilling soever he
was to believe that he could be so grossly faulty to
him, when he saw the chancellor next, his counte-
nance was not the same it used to be ; which the
other taking notice of, asked him, according to his
"usual familiarity, " what the matter was ;" but re-
ceived such an answer as made him discern that
there was somewhat amiss : and so he said no more.
The other being the same day with the king, the
duke came into the room, and in his looks mani-
fested a displeasure towards the treasurer, which
confirmed the former jealousy of the chancellor ;
which was improved by the ladies, who did not like
their lodging, and thought it proceeded from want
of friendship in him, who had the power over the
university, and might have assigned what lodgings
he pleased to the treasurer; and he had assigned
this, as the best house in the town for so great a
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 451
family, and which their own servant had desired as 1G65.
the best in the town, as it was.
When the chancellor discovered the ground of
this alteration, he grew out of humour too, and
thought himself unworthily suspected: and so for
two or three days the two friends came not together.
And in that time the chancellor had enough to do
to inform the duke, who was not only very much
offended with the treasurer, but thought that he had
been, out of his friendship to the treasurer, more re-
miss than he ought to have been in a business so
earnestly recommended by him and his wife ; and
the intelligence from Salisbury had made reflections
upon him as much as upon the other. But his royal
highness willingly received information of all that
had passed, and discerned the foul carriage of others
as well as of the lord Crofts; and was pleased to
confess, " that he had done all he ought to do, and
" that he had been misinformed of the lord trea-
" surer's part in that affair, which had made him
" think amiss of him ; which he would acknowledge
" to him next time he saw him."
After this the chancellor, having a more clear
view, upon conference with the king and the duke,
of this pernicious design, which in some degree had
compassed its end, if there grew a strangeness be-
tween the treasurer and him, went to him : and they
being together without any others, he told him, " it
" should not be in his power to break friendship
" with him to gratify the humour of other people,
" without letting him know what the matter was,"
which he conjured him to impart to him ; assuring
him, " that he would find that nothing was more im-
" possible than that he could commit a fault towards
Gg2
452 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " him, and that they who wished well to neither of
~ " them had contrived this separation as the best
" way to hurt them both." And when he saw that
lie did not yet open himself, he told him, " that he
'" had heard that he had received some umbrage in
'* the pretence of his nephew, and therefore he would
" give him an account of all that he knew of it,"
which he did exactly ; and concluded with a pro-
testation,' " that he had not known what had been
" done at Oxford till after he came from him, when
" he observed the change of his countenance towards
" him, of the cause of which he could not then make
" any conjecture."
The treasurer thereupon with his usual freedom
told him, " that if his part had been no other than
" as he related, he thought himself obliged to give
" him a narration of all he had done, and of the
" grounds and motives he had to think that he had
" failed in his friendship." And thereupon he men-
tioned " the kindness and esteem he had for his
" nephew, whom he thought in all respects of birth
" and breeding at least as worthy of that relation as
" the gentleman who was possessed of it ; and yet
" that since he was not upon the place, he had no
" mind to engage himself in the suit : and that
" when his nephew had given him an account what
" the chancellor had said to him," which he did with
great ingenuity, " and he knew that the duke of
" York appeared in it for another, he resolved to
" prosecute it no further ; until the lord Crofts with
" all confidence assured him, that the king had pro-
'" mised him to confer the place upon Robert Spencer,
" and that both their majesties expected that he
" should make it his suit, to the end that they might
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 453
" thereby decline the importunity that he expected 1665.
" from his brother." He told him of some expressions ~~
he had used to the king in that affair, which the king
himself had reported ; and " that when he took his
" leave of the queen to go to Oxford," (which was
the next day after Mr. Mountague came from York,)
" he dissuaded her majesty from receiving Mr.
" Spencer, alleging some reasons against it, which a
" lady who was near overheard, and informed the
" person of it who acquainted him with it : all
" which, with the king's and queen's so ample pro-
" mises to him so few hours before the conferring
'* the place upon another, and the duke of York's
" manner of receiving him after he had been shut
" up with him, as he was informed, might very well
" excuse him for thinking he had some share in the
" affront he had undergone."
To which the other replied, " that if indeed he
" did believe all that he had been told, he could not
" but think so ; but," he said, " he thought he had
" known him better than to give credit to such re-
" ports, which must make him a fool and a knave :
" that for the words he should have used to the
" king or the queen, there had nothing passed like
" it to either of them, but that they were purely
" devised out of malice ; which should be manifest
" unto him, for he would not speak a word of it to
" the king till they were both with him together)
" and then he would ask before him what his car-
" riage had been, and by his majesty's sudden an-
" swer he might judge of the report." He told him
then, " how much he had suffered with the duke,
" and what excellent stories had been made to his
" royal highness of both of them, and of the good
Gg3
454 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " part the lord Crofts had acted, of which he was
~~" not without some evidence." After this eclair-
cissement, of the sincerity whereof every day admin-
istered new testimony, they both returned to their
mutual confidence in each other : and they who had
contrived this former device entered into a new
confederacy, how they might first remove the trea-
surer, which would facilitate the pulling the chan-
cellor down ; of which anon.
The duke Within a short time after the duke returned out
consults the
chancellor of Yorkshire, his highness told the chancellor in
\ng two"* confidence, " that he had two suits which he in-
king.*0 the " tended to make to the king, and with which he
" first acquainted him, that he might have his as-
" sistance in the obtaining them. The first was, in
" which he and his wife were equally engaged, to
" prevail with the king to make sir George Savile a
" viscount." He said, " he knew well the resolution
" the king had taken, to which he had contributed
" his advice, to make no more lords : but that he
" hoped in this particular case his majesty would
" upon his desire dispense with a general rule.
" That sir George had one of the best fortunes of
" any man in England, and lived the most like a
" great man ; that he had been very civil to him
" and his wife in the north, and treated them at his
" house in a very splendid manner ; and that he
" was engaged to prevail with the king in this
" point, or to confess he had no power, which he
" hoped he should not be without in this matter ;"
and asked his opinion.
The chancellor in his usual freedom, which he
always took when he was to deliver his advice to
the king or duke, said, "that he could not advise
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 455
*' his highness to move the king in it; for besides
" that he knew the king's positive determination,
" the departure from which might ,be of ill con-
" sequence, sir George Savile was a man of a very
" ill reputation amongst men of piety and reli-
" gion, and was looked upon as void of all sense
" of religion, even to the doubting, if not denying,
" that there is a God, and that he was not reserved
" in any company to publish his opinions : which
" made him believe that it would neither be for
" his highness's honour to propose it, nor for the
" king's to grant it, in a time when all license in
" discourse and in actions was spread over the king-
" dom, to the heart-breaking of very many good
" men1, who had terrible apprehensions of the con-
" sequence of it." The duke was not at all pleased
with his discourse, and said, " he was resolved to
" use all his credit with the king to compass it, and
" that he hoped, that whatever he thought, he would
" not oppose it."
The other particular was, " that he would move
" the king to make Mr. Coventry his secretary a
'* privy counsellor ;" and asked him " what he
" thought of that." To which he answered, " that
" his opinion in that point would please him no bet-
" ter than in the former. That he did not think it
" fit to be asked : and if the king his brother were
" inclined to be jealous of him, as some had endea-
" voured to persuade him, such an instance as this
" would very much confirm it ; for never any
" prince of Wales had a servant of the highest de-
" gree about him called to the council, till his father
" called the earl of Newcastle, who was the prince's
1 men] Omitted in MS.
Gg4
456 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " governor, to the board; which was not till upon
"~" the approach of the troubles he discerned that he
" should employ him in another charge. That the
" members of that board had been always those
" great officers of state, and other officers, who in
" respect of the places they held had a title to sit
'* there, and of such few others who, having great
" titles and fortunes and interest in the kingdom,
" were an ornament to the table. That there were
" at present too many already, and the number
" lessened the dignity of the relation : that his high-
" ness had already brought the lord Berkley thither,
" who had no manner of title to be there but his de-
" pendance upon him ; and now to bring in his se-
" cretary, for no other reason but for being his se-
" cretary, might be thought an encroachment, and
" be misinterpreted by the king." He added, " that
" his wrangling litigious nature would give the
'* board much trouble ; and that he knew him to be
" so much his particular enemy, that he would
" watch all the opportunities to do him all possible
" ill offices to the king and to his royal highness."
The duke replied only to the last, and said, " he
" perceived somebody had done Will. Coventry ill
(C offices, which he knew to be unjust and false :
** and that he could assure him, upon his own
" knowledge, that he had a great respect for him,
" and desired his favour ; and that he would pass
" his word for him, that he would never do any
** thing to disserve him, which if he should do, he
" should for ever lose his favour, which he knew
" well." And no doubt the duke did believe all he
said, for he had a perfect kindness for the chancel-
lor; and when he did not comply with what he
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 457
wished, he knew that it was out of the integrity of 1665.
his judgment, and his strict duty to the king and""
himself, and that he had never flattered or dissem-
bled with either of them. And Mr. Coventry had
skill enough to persuade him to believe what he de-
sired should be true, though there were in the view
of all men frequent instances of the contrary, and of
the absence of all ingenuity and sincerity in his ac-
tions.
Within very few days after this conference, and ^he duke
11-1 « .11 moves the
when the duchess had made new instance with her king to
father in the case of sir George Savile, and with
more importunity than the duke, and appeared more
concerned and troubled that he should not be more
forward to comply with the duke's desires, (but the
chancellor, who always with the respect that was
due to her quality preserved the dignity of a father
very entire, would give no other answer than he
had done to the duke, and advised her to dissuade
him from making the request to the king ;) his
highness one day desired the king that he would re-
tire into his closet, and call the chancellor to him :
and when they three were together in the room,
after a short discourse of letters which he had TG-
ceived from the earl of Sandwich, which there will
be occasion anon to mention at large, the duke told
the king, " he had an humble suit to his majesty ;"
and then spake much of the great interest that sir
George Savile had in the northern parts, of the
greatness of his estate, and his orderly and splendid
way of living, and concluded with his desire, " that
" his majesty would make him an English viscount."
Upon which the king presently put him in mind
" of the resolution he had formerly made in that
458 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " room, and he thought upon his own motion, but
~~" he was sure it had been with his concurrence and
" approbation."
The duke replied, " that he remembered it very
" well, and thought he should do well still in the.
" general to observe it : yet it was in those cases al-
" ways supposed, that an extraordinary case might
" fall out, that might produce an exception ; and he
" did most humbly beseech his majesty, that he
" would, upon his very earnest interposition-, from
" which nobody could make a precedent, dispense
" with the rule." He did confess, " that he was so
" confident of his majesty's favour, that he had given
" sir George Savile cause to believe that he would
" prevail in that suit ; which if he should not do, he
" must be thought either not to have intended what
" he promised, or to have no credit with his ma-
" jesty, neither of which would be for his honour."
which the The king replied roundly, and with more pre-
not consent sence of mind than he had always about him, " that
" it was absolutely necessary to be very precise in
" the observation of the rule, which if he should
" once break, a world of inconveniences would break
" in upon him, which he could not defend himself
" against." He named two or three persons who
were very solicitous for honours, and had several
pretences to it, and his majesty had only been able
to resist and evade their importunity, by objecting
this declared resolution to them. The plain truth
is ; he had made some promise (a weakness he was
too often liable to), to those persons or to their friends,
" that when he should make any new creations,
" they should be sure to be in the number :" nor did
he apprehend any inconvenience from redeeming
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 459
himself from the present importunity, which was still 1665.
grievous to him, since he had resolved to make no
new creation. And this was the true reason that
made him now so inexorable to his brother, who was
very much troubled, and declined to move any thing
else in so unlucky a season, not without some appre-
hension, from the king's quicker way of discourse,
that he had been prepared for it by the chancellor,
who though present had not spoke one word in the
debate, nor indeed ever informed the king of the
conference his highness had formerly held with him
upon that subject, nor ever spoken to him concern-
ing it.
However, in this perplexity, as the duke thought
it necessary to inform Mr. Coventry, who had prin-
cipally advanced this pretence, all that had passed
before the king, that his nephew (for so sir George
Savile was) might see he could make no further pro-
gress in it ; so in the passion he unwarily told him
all that had passed in the former conference with
the chancellor, which he took care should not be
concealed from any who were like to be willing to
revenge it. And the duke, to shew how willing he
was to oblige the family, immediately received a
younger brother of sir George Savile, whom he had
only seen in the north, to wait upon him in his bed-
chamber ; who being a young man of wit, and in-
credible confidence and presumption, omitted no
occasion to vent his malice against the chancellor,
with a license that in former times would have been
very penal, though it had concerned a person of a
much inferior quality in the state.
Within a short time after, the king told the Mr.wniiam
chancellor, " that his brother had desired him that ad°m!ttc7of
460 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " his secretary Mr. Coventry might be admitted of
the privy. " the privy-council, which he could not deny, but
council and « na(j promjse(i it should be done at the next meet-
the private
committee;"' ing;" which was accordingly done, and he knight-
.ed: and quickly after, upon the like desire of the
duke, he was called to that committee with which
his majesty used to consult his most secret affairs.
And from this time there was an alteration in the
whole carriage and debate of all manner of business :
and as the chancellor had found his own credit with
the king much diminished from the time of the lord
Arlington's being secretary ; so a greater decrease of
it was now visible to all men from the access of this
new counsellor.
The lord Arlington had not the gift of speaking
nor of a quick conception, and go rarely contradicted
any thing in council: his talent was in private,
where he frequently procured, very inconveniently,
changes and alterations from public determinations.
But sir William Coventry (between whom and the
other there was an entire conjunction and combina-
tion) was a man of quick parts and a ready speaker,
unrestrained by any modesty or submission to the
age, experience, or dignity of other men, equally
censorious of what had been done before he was a
counsellor, as solicitous in contradiction of whatsoever
was proposed afterwards : insomuch as the very first
time that he was admitted to the private committee,
the debate being about providing money to be paid
at a day approaching to the bishop of Munster, ac-
cording to the king's obligation, he said, " we had
" need enough of money for our own immediate
" occasions ; and that we ought not to assign any to
" the advancement of the affairs of other men."
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 461
Whereupon he was informed " of the treaty the 1665.
" king had entered into, and that the bishop was at ~~
" that time upon his march, which was by every
" body looked upon as of great importance to his
" majesty ;" to which he answered, " that he had
" heard somewhat of it, how secretly soever it had
" been carried, and that he had never liked it from
" the beginning, nor would give his consent that any
" more money should be paid towards it ;" which
the king himself looked upon as a rare impudence.
His great ambition was to be taken notice ef jfor where he
opposing and contradicting whatsoever was proposed oppoleftL
or said by the chancellor or treasurer, towards whom chancellor
«» and trea-
all other counsellors, how little soever they cared surer-
for their persons, had ever paid respect in regard of
their offices. He was a declared enemy to all law-
yers, and to the law itself; and any thing passed
under the great seal of England was of no more
authority with him, than if it were the scroll of a
scrivener. He had no principles in religion or state ;
of one mind this day, and another to-morrow ; and
always very uneasy to those who were obliged to
consult with him; whose pride and insolence will
administer frequent occasions of mention throughout
the ensuing relation.
The king had not been many days in Oxford, ^"ecc^tof
when news arrived that the earl of Sandwich had&fterthe
. am . i T-V n attempt at
been engaged in some conflict with the Dutch fleet ; Bergen.
of the particulars whereof there was a general long-
ing to be advertised. The truth was, that whilst
the earl rode, after the business of Bergen, as near
that coast as was safe, in expectation of the Dutch
fleet, the winds, which are always tempestuous in
that season of the year, September, made it abso-
462 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. lutely necessary for him to remove with his whole
~ fleet to the coast of Scotland, where there were har-
bours enough for him to ride safe ; and in this in-
terval of time De Ruyter was passed by towards
that of Norway. The news of their Indian fleet
having been attacked by the English in Bergen, and
the letters of some of their officers, which implied as
if they were not satisfied in the security of the port
and of the fidelity of the governor, produced a won-
derful consternation in Holland ; and if they should
be deprived of that wealth, the very company of the
East Indies would be in danger of being dissolved.
The fleet was ready to set sail, under the com-
mand of De Ruyter, well fitted and manned : but
there were still many m factions amongst the cap-
tains and other officers, that might upon any acci-
dents produce many mischiefs ; for the better pre-
vention whereof, the pensionary De Wit was willing
to venture his own person, believing himself to be
as secure any where as on shore, if any misfortune
should befall the fleet. And so he was by a special
commission made plenipotentiary, with an ample
allowance for his table, and a guard of halberdiers
for the safety of his person, with a good train of vo-
lunteers : and so he put himself on board the ship
of De Ruyter, who received orders from him.
Lord sand- The earl of Sandwich, after he had received ad-
abie'to0* vertisements of the Dutch fleet's being passed by
come to an for Norway, took all the care he could to put him-
engagement
with De self and his fleet in the way of their return. They
made a short stay on the coast of Norway, where
upon good consideration their ships were dismissed,
m many] so many
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 463
and loud clamour raised against the hostility of the 1665.
English. And notwithstanding all the vigilance the"
earl could use, the darkness and length of the nights
so favoured them, that he could not engage their
whole fleet, as he endeavoured to do : yet he had But takes
many of his
the good fortune in two encounters to take eight of ships in
their great ships of war, two of their best East India
ships, and about twenty of their other merchant
ships, which were all under the protection of their
fleet, or ought to have been. After which he was
by tempest driven to put the fleet into security in
the English harbours, it being already the month of
October.
It was a fair booty, and came very opportunely to
supply the present necessities of the navy, and to
provide for the setting out of the next fleet at
spring, and was in truth gotten with very good con-
duct, and without any considerable damage : but it
being much less than was expected, (for whatsoever
was upon the sea was looked upon as our own,) the
news no sooner arrived at Oxford, but intelligence
came with it of many oversights which had been
committed and opportunities lost, otherwise it had
been easy to have taken the whole fleet ; and that it
might have been pursued further when it was in
view, after those East India ships were taken, which
were indeed surprised and boarded at the break of
day, when they thought themselves in the middle
of their own fleet. And it is as true that the earl
did then pursue to engage the fleet, till they were
got so near the French shore, that the wind blowing
in to the land, it was by all the flag-officers thought
absolutely necessary to give over the chace.
464 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. Sir William Coventry, who had never paid a ci-
sirw.co- vility to any worthy man but as it was a disobliga-
ventry-s tjon to another whom he cared less for, and so had
unjust re-
flections only contributed to the preferment of the earl of
upon him. -..;,..',/,. ,. . , . .
Sandwich in the last expedition that he might cross
prince Rupert, received much intelligence from seve-
ral officers in the fleet, which he scattered abroad to
the prejudice of the earl, and was willing that it
should be believed that he had been too wary in
avoiding danger. But the king and the duke were
very just to the earl, and discountenanced all those
reports as scandals and calumnies : and the duke,
who had seen his behaviour in the most dangerous
action, gave him a loud testimony " of a prudent
" and brave commander, and as forward and bold in
" the face of danger as the occasion required or dis-
" cretion permitted." And his highness undertook
" that he had in all this expedition done what a
" man of honour was pbliged to do," and was abun-
dantly satisfied (as his majesty likewise was) with
the rich prizes he had brought home, which had
caused equal lamentation in Holland, and almost
broke the heart of De Wit himself. But what suc-
cess soever the earl had at sea, it was his mis-
fortune to do an unadvised action when he came
into the harbour, that lessened the king's own
esteem of him, and to a great degree irreconciled
the duke to him, and gave opportunity to his ene-
mies to do him much prejudice.
An impm- It was a constant and a known rule in the admi-
of theeari" ralty, that of any ship that is taken from the enemy
wLhaafter bulk *s not to ^e Dr°keT1» till it be brought into the
his return; port and adjudged lawful prize. It seems that when
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 465
the fleet returned to the harbour, the flag-officers 1665.
petitioned or moved the earl of Sandwich, " in re-~~
" gard of their having continued all the summer
" upon the seas with great fatigue, and been en-
" gaged in many actions of danger, that he would
" distribute amongst them some reward out of the
" Indian ships ;" which he thought reasonable, and
inclined to satisfy them, and writ a letter to the
vice-chamberlain to inform the king of it, and " that
" he thought it fit to be done ;" to which the vice-
chamberlain, having shewed the letter to the king,
returned his majesty's approbation. But before the
answer came to his hand, he had executed the de-
sign, and distributed as much of the coarser goods
to the flag-officers, as by estimatitin was valued to
be one thousand pounds to each officer, and took to
the value of two thousand pounds for himself. This
suddenly made such a noise and outcry, as if all the
Indian and other merchant ships had been plundered
by the seamen : and they again cried out as much,^
that no care was taken of them, but all given to the
flag-officers ; which the other captains thought to be
an injury to them.
The general (who had nothing like kindness for which the
the earl of Sandwich, whose service he thought had
been too much considered and recompensed by the |j
king at his arrival) had notice of it before it came to
Oxford ; and, according to his universal care, (which
was afterwards found to proceed from private ani-
mosity,) sent orders to all the port towns, to seize
upon goods which were brought in shallops from the
fleet ; and gave advertisement to Oxford of the ex-
traordinary ill consequence of that action, and " that
" it would spoil the sale of all that remained of those
VOL. II. H h
466 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " ships, since the East India company, which pro-
" bably would have been the best chapmen, would
" not now be forward to buy, since so much was
" disposed of already to other hands as would spoil
" their market." And by this time the earl himself
had given an account of all that had been done, and
The king the motives, to the duke. The king was justly dis-
with tL pleased for the expedition he had used, " Why had
earl> " his approbation been desired, when he resolved to
" do the thing before he could receive an answer?"
yetn was glad that he had done so, because he
would have been more excusable if he had received
it.
The duke But the duke, who had been constantly kind to
against him. the earl, was offended in the highest degree, and
thought himself injured and affronted beyond any
precedent. " This most unjustifiable action could
" proceed only from two fountains : the one of ex-
" treme vanity and ambition, to make himself popu-
" lar amongst the officers of the fleet, who ought not
" to have been gratified by him at the king's charge.
" When any such bounty should be seasonable, it
" was the duke's province to have been the author,
" and the conduit to have conveyed it : he had him-
" self been an eyewitness of their behaviour in the °
«' greatest action ; and for the earl to assume the
" rewarding them by his own authority, was to de-
" fraud and rob him of his proper right and juris-
" diction." And he looked upon his having desired
the king's allowance by the vice-chamberlain, as a
trick and an aggravation ; for he ought to have
asked his advice, as his superior officer: and the
n yet] and ° the] their
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 467
poor vice-chamberlain underwent his share in the 1G65.
reproach, for having presumed to move the king in ~~
a particular, that, if it was to be moved at all, had
been to be moved by the duke. " The other foun-
" tain which might produce this presumption might
" be avarice," which was the sole blemish (though it
never appeared in any gross instance) that- seemed
to cloud many noble virtues in that earl, who now
became a very pregnant evidence of the irresistible
strength and power of envy ; which though it feeds
on its own poison, and is naturally more grievous to
the person who harbours it, than to him that is ma-
ligned, yet when it finds a subject it can effectually
work upon, it is more insatiable in revenge than any
passion the soul is liable unto.
He was a gentleman of so excellent a temper and character of
the earl of
behaviour, that he could make himself no enemies ; sandwich.
of so many good qualities, and so easy to live with,
that he marvellously reconciled the minds of all men
to him, who had not intimacy enough with him to
admire his other parts : yet was in the general in-
clinations of men upon some disadvantage. They
who had constantly followed the king whilst he as
constantly adhered to Cromwell, and knew not how
early he had entertained repentance,. and with what
hazards and dangers he had manifested it, did be-
lieve the king had been too prodigal in heaping so
many honours upon him. And they who had been
familiar with him and of the same party, and
thought they had been as active as he in contribut-
ing to the revolution, considered him with some
anger, as one who had better luck than they without
more merit, and who had made early conditions :
when in truth no man in the kingdom had been
Hh 2
468 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. less guilty of that address; nor did he ever contri-
bute to any advancement to which he arrived, by
the least intimation or insinuation that he wished it,
He is very or that it would be acceptable to him. Yet upon
treated. this blast the winds rose from all quarters, reproaches
of all sorts were cast upon him, and all affronts con-
trived for him.
The earl had conveyed that part of the goods
which he had assigned to himself in a shallop to
Lynn, from whence it could pass* by water to his
own house. An officer in that port seized upon it
by virtue of the general's warrant, and would cause
it presently to be unladen, which he began to do.
But the servants of the earl appealed to the other
officers in equal authority, to whom they brought a
letter with them from the earl of Sandwich, in which
he owned all those goods to be his, (amongst which
were his bedding and furniture for his cabin, and all
his plate, and other things suitable,) and likewise a
note of all the other goods which might be liable to
pay custom ; and desired them " to send one of
" their searchers with the boat to his house, where
" he should receive all their dues, without being
" unladen in the port ;" which, besides the delay,
would be liable to many inconveniences. The officer
who had first arrested it, and who had dependance
upon a great man of the country, who was not un-
willing that any affront should be put upon the earl,
roughly refused to suffer it to pass without being
first unladen ; but being overruled by the other offi-
cers, vented his anger in very unmannerly language
against the earl : of all which he, being advertised
by his servants, sent a complaint to the lords of the
council, and desired " the fellow might be sent for
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 469
" and punished ;" which could not be refused, though 1665.
it proved troublesome in the inquiry. For the offi- ~~
cer, who was a gentleman of a fair behaviour and
good repute, denied all those words which carried in
them the worst interpretation ; but justified the ac-
tion, and produced the general's warrant, which had
unusual expressions, and apparent enough to have a
particular and not a general intention.
The general had quick advertisement of it, and
writ very passionately from London, " that an offi-
" cer should be sent for without having committed
" any other offence than in obeying and executing
" a warrant of his :" and the other great man, who
was of great importance to the king's service, and in
the highest trust in that country, writ several let-
ters, " how impossible it would be to carry on the
" king's service in that country, if that officer should
" be punished for doing that, when he ought to be
" punished if he had not done it ;" and therefore de-
sired, " that he might be repaired by them who had
" caused him to be sent for."
Sir William Coventry had now full sea-room to
give vent to all his passions, and to incense the
duke, who was enough offended without such con-
tributions : " if this proceeded from covetousness, it
" was not probable that it would be satisfied with so
" little ; and therefore it was probable, that though
" the officers might not have received above the va-
" lue of one thousand pounds," which was assigned
to each, " yet himself would not be contented with
" so little as two thousand ; and they might there-
" fore well conceive that he had taken much more,
" which ought to be examined with the greatest
" strictness." There had been nothing said before
Hh 3
470 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. of not taking advantage enough upon the enemy in
~ all occasions which had been offered, and of not
pursuing them far enough, which was not now re-
newed, with P advice, " that he might be presently
" sent for ;" though it was known that, as soon as he
could put the ships into the ports to which they
were designed, he would come to Oxford. And
there were great underhand endeavours, that the
house of commons might be inflamed with this mis-
carriage and misdemeanor, and present it as a com-
plaint to the house of peers, as fit to be examined
and brought to judgment before that tribunal. And
.they, who with all the malice imaginable did endea-
vour in vain to kindle this fire, persuaded the king
and the duke, " that by their sole activity and
" interest it was prevented for • that time, because
" the session was too short, and that all necessary
" evidence could not be soon produced at Oxford ;
" but that, as soon as the plague should cease to
" such a degree in London that the parliament
" might assemble there, it would be impossible to
" restrain the house of commons from pursuing that
" complaint," of which nobody thought but them-
selves and they who were provoked by them.
The earl of Sandwich had so good intelligence
from Oxford, that he knew all that was said of him,
and began to believe that he had done unadvisedly
in administering occasion of speaking ill to those
He fuiiy who greedily sought for it : and as soon as his ab-
seifofthT sence from the fleet could be dispensed with, he
misconduct ma^e haste to Oxford, and gave so full an account
at sea ; of every day's action, from the time that he went to
P with] without
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 471
sea to the day of his return, and of his having never J665.
done any thing of importance, nor having left any
thing undone, but with and by the advice of the
council of war, upon the orders he had received,
that both the king and the duke could not but ab-
solve him from all the imputations of negligence or
inadvertency.
But for the breaking bulk, and the circumstances And makes
11*11111 .an injjenu-
that attended it, they declared they were unsatis- ous acknow-
fied. And he confessed " that he had been much to0ef hhHin-
" blame," and asked pardon, ,and with such excuses Pmdence '•
as he thought might in some degree plead for him.
He protested, " it seemed to him to have had some
" necessity : that the whole fleet was in a general
" indisposition, and complained, that for all that
" summer action" (which indeed had been full of
merit) " they had nothing given to them, not without
" some muttering that they would have somewhat
" out of those Indian ships before they would part
" with them ; insomuch as he had a real apprehen-
" sion that they had a purpose to plunder them.
" And he should have feared more, if he had. not
" complied with the flag-officers' importunity : and
" thereupon he consented that they should have
" each of them the value of one thousand pounds,
" and which he was most confident the goods which
" had been delivered to them did not exceed." He
confessed " he had not enough considered the con->
" sequence, and that they who had not received any
" donative would be more displeased, than they who
" had it were satisfied with it ; which he acknow-
" ledged was the case : that he was heartily sorry
" for permitting any such thing to be done, and
" more for having taken any himself, and humbly
H h 4
472 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 665. " asked 1 pardon for both ; and desired ' that his
"~ " own part, which remained entire, might be re-
" stored to the ship from whence it had been taken,
" which he would cause to be done."
A more ingenuous acknowledgment could not be
made : and they who could not but observe many
persons every day excused for more enormous trans-
gressions, did hope that he, who had so few faults to
answer for, would have been absolved for that tres-
with which pass. And the king himself used him very gracious-
satisfied, ly, and so did the duke ; and he was sent back to
the fleet, to give order for the sending out a winter-
guard and ordering all other maritime affairs, and
for the sending up the India ships into the river, with
great care that none of the seamen should go on
shore, where the plague still raged little if at all less
than it had done in the summer : and so he himself
and most other men believed and were glad, that an
ill business was so well composed. But sir William
did not intend that it should end there.
The East The present business, that must admit no inter-
India prizes
sold for the ruption, was the raising what money might be to
service of . .
the war. supply the present necessities of the fleet, to pay the
seamen, and to make all preparations to set out the
fleet against the spring, when the French ships
would be infallibly ready to join with the Dutch ;
and the money that was given by the parliament
would not be paid till long after ; and the affairs of
the bankers were in such disorder by the death of
servants, and the plague having been in some of
their houses, that the usual course of advancing mo-
nies by assignations could not be depended upon.
(i asked] Omitted in MS. r desired] Omitted in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 473
The general had written to the lord treasurer, " that J665.
" he thought that there could not be so good chap-""
" men for those ships as the East India company,
" some whereof had been with him to know the
" king's pleasure ; and if authority were granted to
" any men to treat upon that affair, they would
" send for members enough of their company, who
" were dispersed in the country, to be present at a
" court, which would authorize a committee to
" treat and contract with them :" and he said,
" that he was confident that half the money would
" be paid upon the making the bargain." The king
was no sooner advertised of this overture, than he
sent sir George Carteret and Mr. Ashburnham to
London, to confer with the general and to be ad-
vised by him, and granted authority to them three
to sell those two prizes to those who would give
most. And they found no overtures to be so advan-
tageous as those which were made by that company:
and yet they made so much use of the advantage of
the time, when all men of notorious wealth were
out of the town, that they thought not fit to make
any agreement till they gave the king an account of
the whole transaction, with their opinions, upon
conference with other men of business ; and to that
purpose the two persons who had been sent to the
general returned safe to Oxford.
It hath been mentioned before, that it was
thought a great presumption in any body to pre-
sume to interpose in the maritime affairs, which
was interpreted to be an invasion of the duke's pe-
culiar province8 ; and by this means the credit of sir
s province] Not in MS.
474 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. William Coventry was so absolute, that the disposal
The kin of all was in his power. He had persuaded the
persuaded duke, and the lord Arlington, who was in firm con-
to remove
lord sand- junction with him, had prevailed with the king to
the com™ believe, "that the house of commons was so in-
nandofthe« cense(j against the lord Sandwich for his late pre-
" sumption, that it would not be possible to hinder
" them in their next assembling" (which was ap-
pointed or resolved to be in April, if it pleased God
to extinguish the sickness) " from falling* very se-
" verely upon the earl of Sandwich, which would
" be a very great dishonour to the king, if he were
" at that time in ttie command of the fleet ; and
" that -there was no way to preserve him" (for that
was their method when they had a mind to ruin a
man, to pretend a great care that he might not be
undone) "but by dismissing him from that charge,
" which probably might preserve him from being
" further questioned, since it would be interpreted
" a punishment inflicted on him by the king for his
" crime, and so might stop him from being further
" prosecuted for the same offence." To which they
added, "that it would be necessary in another re-
" spect; for that many of the officers, as well as
" common seamen, had opened their mouths very
" wide against him, especially after it was gene-
" rally known that the king and the duke were of-
" fended with him, and had not been at all reserved
" in charging him with several reproaches : and that
" if the same command were still continued in him,
" it could not be presumed that those men would
" ever put themselves under his command whom
" they had so much provoked."
1 from falling] to fall
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 475
These arguments, urged by men who were not 1665.
known, at least by the king and duke, to be his ene-
mies, and one of them thought to be (and in truth
was, but for his conjunction with the other) his
friend, and to wish him very well, prevailed upon
the judgments of both of them ; insomuch as they
resolved to confer with the chancellor, whom they
knew to be much the earl's friend. And they both
expressed " very much kindness to and confidence The king
" in the affection and integrity and courage of
" earl of Sandwich, though he was to be blamed
" his late indiscretion, and a resolution with their
" utmost power to defend him from undergoing any
" disgrace by it : but that it would contribute most
" to his preservation, that he quitted the employ-
" ment, and that some other persons should be sent
" to command the next fleet in the spring. For if
** he should again go to sea, and the u parliament
" should press to have him sent for, to answer what
" they had to object against him, his majesty must
" either refuse to consent to it, which would make
" a breach with his parliament, or by consenting dis-
" order his maritime affairs to that degree, that the
" enemy could not but take very great advantage of
" it." Therefore they commanded the chancellor
to confer with him and discourse the whole matter
to him, to assure him x " of the king's and duke's fa-
" vour, and that they were in this particular moved
*' only by their tenderness to him ; and that some
" expedient should be first found out to remove him
" with honour, before any notice should be taken of
" the purpose to remove him, and before any other
11 the] Not in MS. * to assure him] secure him
476 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. "person should be deputed to the command; and
~ " that he himself should either propose the expe-
" dient, if any such occurred to him that would be
" grateful, or judge of any that should be proposed
" to him."
The cban- The chancellor did presume to declare, " that he
against re- " thought that they were persuaded to apprehend
him?D§ " somewhat that could not fall out. That he would
" not take upon him to excuse the earl of Sandwich
" for any offence he had committed : if it were of
" that magnitude that his majesty thought fit to re-
" move him from his command, nobody could cen-
" sure it ; and it may be, in a time of so much li-
" cense, the severity might be thought seasonable.
" But the apprehension that the parliament would
" take more notice of what the earl had done, than
" they would of any other breach of order that was
" every day committed, was without any just rea-
" son." But that argument was presently silenced
by their undertaking to know somewhat that the
other could not do, and that there was no other way
to preserve him y but that which was proposed.
There was at that time an opportunity in view,
that might give the earl of Sandwich an employ-
ment very worthy of him, and which no man could
imagine would be assigned to any man who was in
An account disgrace. Sir Richard Fanshaw, who was a gentle-
S Fan- nian very well known and very well beloved, had
1 been first ambassador in Portugal, and had behaved
Spain. himself so well there, that when he returned from
thence, he was recommended, and upon the matter
desired, by that crown to be sent to Spain, as the
y him] Omitted in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 477
fittest person to mediate in the king's name between ] 665.
Spain and Portugal; and the king had before de-~~
signed to send him ambassador into Spain, as well
to settle a treaty between England and Spain, (for
there was none yet,) as to do all the offices between
those other crowns which were requisite to the end
aforesaid. No man knew that court better2, or
was so well versed in the language, having lived
many years before in that court in much better
times. He had remained now about two years,
with such frequent mortifications as ministers use to
meet with in courts irresolute and perplexed in their
own affairs, as the counsels of Madrid were in the
last years of the king, as his indisposition increased,
or by relaxing administered some hope. He had
made a journey to Lisbon upon the earnest desire
of Spain, and returned without eifect. The peace
was equally desired and equally necessary to both
nations : but the Portugal was a unmoveable in the
conditions of it, preferring the worst that could fall
out, even the abandoning their country, rather than
to be without the sovereignty of it ; and the Span-
iard as positive not to part with their title, though
they had no hope of their subjection. Nor did
Spain appear solicitous to conclude any treaty with
England, except either Portugal might be compre-
hended in it or abandoned by it.
On a sudden, when the recovery'1 of the king
grew more desperate, (which is never a thing noto-
riously known in that court,) a project for a treaty
was sent to the ambassador, containing more advan-
z better] Not in MS. b recovery] recovery or long
1 was] Omitted in MS. continuance
478 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. tages in trade to the nation, (which are the most
~" important matters in all those treaties,) and insisting
upon fewer inconvenient conditions, than had ever
been in any former treaties ; without any mention
of Tangier or Jamaica, which had hitherto in the
entrance into any treaty since the king's return
made the progress impossible : only it was urged,
" that it might either be presently accepted and
" signed by the ambassador, with a covenant that it
" should be confirmed by the king within so many
" days after it should be presented to him, or
" else that there should be no more mention or dis-
" course of it."
The ambassador, surprised with this overture,
compared what was offered with what he was to de-
mand by his instructions ; and what was defective
in those particulars he added to the articles present-
ed to him, with such additions as, upon his own ob-
servation and conference with the merchants, oc-
curred to him, or which seemed probable to be
granted from somewhat themselves had offered
more than had been demanded by him. These
alterations and amendments were approved and
consented to, and quickly returned engrossed and
signed by the king, on condition to be presently
signed by him, with the undertaking that is for-
merly mentioned. It had been wisely done by the
ambassador, and no more than his duty, if he had
first acquainted his master or the ministers with all
that had passed, and expected a particular order be-
fore he had signed it. But that being expressly re-
fused, without concealing the reason or the king's
weakness, " which," they declared, " might make
" such an alteration in counsels, that if it were not
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 479
" done in his lifetime, they knew not what might
" happen after :" this was thought as good an argu-
ment by him for the despatch, as it was to them ;
and that if he should not make use of this conjunc-
ture, there would never be the like advantageous
treaty offered again. Hereupon he presently signed
the treaty, with some secret article which was not
to the advantage of Portugal, otherwise than that
he concluded, by what had been said to him at Lis-
bon, it would have been acceptable to them.
This treaty was no sooner brought to the king by
the Spanish ambassador, (wljo had received it by an
express) and perused at the council-table, but many
gross faults were found to be in it. Besides the
gentleman's absence, who would with greater abi-
lities have defended himself than any of those who
had reproached him, it was no advantage to him
that he was known to be much in the chancellor's
confidence : and therefore the more pain was taken
to persuade the king that he was a weak man,
(which the king himself knew him not to be ;) and
they put such a gloss upon many of the articles, and
rejected others as unprofitable which were thought
to contain matters of great moment, thatc they
would not consent that a trade to the West Indies
could be any benefit to England, and the like. In
the end, the king concluded that he would not sign
the treaty ; for which he had some access of reason
within a month after, by the death of the king of
Spain.
When all these reproaches were cast upon the He is re-
ambassador, and notice given that the king did dis-ca
c that] as
480 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. avow the treaty and refused to sign it; it was rea-
"sonably resolved that he ought not to remain there
longer as ambassador, but to be recalled. But the
plague driving the king from London and dispersing
the council, the pursuing this resolution was no
more assumed, till the business of the earl of Sand-
wich (1 made it thought on as a good expedient ; and
the chancellor was directed in his discourse with the
earl to mention it, as a proper expedient in his con-
dition to be laid hold on and embraced.
The chancellor entered upon the whole discourse
with that freedom and openness that became a man
who he knew was not suspected by him. He told
him all that himself knew of the affair, and the ap-
prehension the king had of the parliament, and the
expedient he had thought of to remove him out of
the reach or noise of clamour, of which he made him
the judge ; and " if he did not like this employment*5
" for Spain, some other should be thought of and
" published before it should be known, and before
" the command of the fleet should be committed to
" any other."
The earl of Sandwich lamented " that it had been
" in any body's power to make so ill impressions in
" the king and the duke, upon his having commit-
" ted a trespass, for which he was heartily sorry;"
and confessed " it was a presumption and indiscre-
" tion,the ill consequence whereof he had not had wit
" enough to discover : however, he did not yet think
" it so great, as to make him fear to give an account
" of it before the parliament, or any thing that they
" could do upon it." He seemed not to be ignorant
d Sandwich] Not in MS. e employment] Omitted in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 481
of the offices sir William Coventry did him, " in 1665.
" drawing complaints and reproaches from those ~
" who had neither cause nor inclination to speak to
" his disadvantage. He was sensible of the general's
" want of justice towards him, which he knew not
" to what to impute, but to his pride and weakness.
" He did acknowledge it great bounty in the king,
" since he thought him unfit and unworthy to con-
" tinue in the command he had, that he would
" yet assign him to so honourable an employment ;
" which, though it could not wipe off\the reproach
" of being dismissed from the other charge, was yet
" a sufficient evidence that he was not out of his
" majesty's good opinion and confidence : and there-
" fore he did with all cheerfulness submit to his ma-
" jesty's pleasure, and would be ready for his jour-
" ney to Spain as soon as his despatch should be pre-
" pared." r .1 ^
He told him then, " that he was in one respect
" glad to be removed from his present command, for
" he was confident that he would see no more great
" matters done at sea, for that the common men
".were weary of the war; and that sir William
" would never suffer any peace to be in the fleet,
" but had creatures ready to do all ill offices amongst
" them, whom he cherished and preferred before the
" best officers ;" and told him many other things
which fell out afterwards, and said, " sir William
" would make any man who should succeed him
" weary of his command, by sending such variety of
" orders that he would not know what to do." And
shortly after, he gave him a perfect journal of his
last expedition, in whicli there were indeed many
orders which must needs startle and perplex a com-
VOL. II. I i
482 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. mander in chief, it being his usual course to sig-
~~nify the duke's pleasure in matters of the greatest
importance without the duke's hand; which yet
they durst not disobey, nor produce in their own jus-
tification, being such as in truth were no such war-
rants as they ought to obey, and yet would reflect
upon his royal highness : and told him likewise of
the ill inventions he had set on foot, by which prince
Rupert was stopped from being joined with him in
the command of the last fleet.
The eari of When the chancellor had informed the king of
Sandwich . . . .
sent ambas- the earl of Sandwich's submission to his pleasure,
ordinary™ and that he would be ready to undertake the em-
mto Spam. p}0yment for Spain as soon as his majesty pleased ;
hereupon the king declared his resolution in council
to send the earl of Sandwich his extraordinary am-
bassador, as well to correct and amend the mistakes
and errors in the late treaty, as f further to mediate
the peace with Portugal, which upon the death of
the king was in some respect more practicable. And
to that purpose he sent sir Robert Southwell, one of
the clerks of the council, envoy into Portugal, that
the earl might the better know the inclinations of
that people : and all instructions necessary were pre-
sently to be prepared to both those ends.
The king This first work being thus despatched, it remained
appointing to settle the command, for the ensuing year, of the
fleet; and there can be little doubt made, but that
general ^he king and the duke had resolved this at the same
joint iuhm-
rals' time that they determined that the earl of Sandwich
should not continue in it : however, it was commu-
nicated to tfobody, till the designation of the other
f as] and
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 483
was published. Then the king told the chancellor, 1665.
" that his brother and he had long considered that ~~
" affair, and could not think of any expedient so
" good for the performance of that service, as a con-
" junction between prince Rupert and the general,
" and making them both joint commanders in chief
" of the fleet for the next expedition." There had
many exceptions occurred to them against commit-
ting the charge to either of them singly ; nor were
they without apprehension of some which might
fall out by joining them together, which would be
much greater, if they were not both well prepared
to embrace the occasion, and themselves to like the
designation. For the doing this the chancellor was
again thought to be the fittest man, being believed
to have the greatest interest in both of them, and
most in him from whom the greatest difficulties
were expected to arise, which was prince Rupert.
It was easy to know prince Rupert's mind, who was
in the house : yet they were both in cases of that
nature desirous always to impart what they desired
by others, rather than to debate it first themselves.
But then the general was at London, besieged by
the plague ; and the matter was not fit to be com-
municated by letter, because, if he should make any
scruple of concurring in it, it was to be declined.
Upon these considerations it was resolved, first,
that the chancellor should prepare prince Rupert,
and then that the general should be sent for to Ox-
ford upon pretences, of which enough would occur.
The prince, though he was much more willing to Prince RU-
have gone alone, willingly conformed to the king's fingiyac-
pleasure: and so both the king and duke spake at01
large with him upon all that was necessary to be
I i 2
joint com-
mission.
484 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. adjusted. And the general was sent to, " that it was
~~" necessary for the king to confer with him upon
" some propositions, which were made to him upon
" the East India ships," (which transaction was not
at that time yet concluded ;) " and therefore that on
" such a day he should come from London early
'* in the morning," (for it was deep winter,) " in his
" own coach to Beaconsfield, where he should find
" another coach ready to receive him, and another
" at another stage ; so that he might be with ease
" at Oxford the same night," as he was, and very
graciously received by the king, as he deserved to
be. But as he had no manner of imagination of the
true reason why he was sent for, so neither his ma-
jesty nor the duke would impart it to him, out of
real imagination that it would riot be grateful to
him ; but that was left to be imparted and dexterously
managed by the chancellor, in whom, as was said
before, it was generally believed that he had great
confidence.
The chan- jje the next morning entered into conference
cellor con-
fers with with him, and after general discourses told him,
6 a that the king had disposed the earl of Sandwich
subject. (( J.Q another employment, for which he did not
" seem sorry ; and that it must be now thought of,
" who was fit to command in his place : that there
" was no hope of peace, instead whereof there
" would be an entire conjunction between France
" and the Dutch; and that the French fleet" (the
ambassadors being about this time gone) " would
" be ready to join with them as soon as they should
" put to sea ; and there was much doubt that
" the Dane would betake himself to the same al-
" liance ; and all would be at sea before we should
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 485
" be, except extraordinary diligence were used, 1665.
*' which the continuance of the plague would hardly ~~
" admit." The general presently answered, " that
" no person was so fit for that command as prince
" Rupert, who understood the seas well, and had
" that courage that was necessary in this conjunc-
" ture."
The chancellor told him, " that the king had
" great confidence in the affection and unquestion-
" able courage of prince Rupert : but he was not
" sure, that the quickness of his spirit and the
" strength of his passion might not sometimes
" stand in need of the advice and assistance of a
" friend, who should be in equal authority with
" him ; and had therefore thought of finding some
" fit person to be joined with him, and so make one
" admiral of two persons." To which the other not
replying suddenly, he continued his discourse, say-
ing, " that the king had such a person in his view,
" whom he would never acquaint with it, until he
" might find some way to discover that the propos-
" ing it would not be ingrateful to him ; and that
" he was obliged to make this discovery, and that
" the person in the king's view was himself; and
" that if he and prince Rupert were joined in the
" command of the fleet and undertook it, his majesty
" would believe that he had done all that was in his
" power, and would, with great hope, commit all the
" rest to God Almighty." He said, " he thought he
" had behaved himself most like a friend in telling
" him shortly and plainly what the king's drift was,
" towards which, though the secret was known to
" none but the duke of York, yet such an advance
486 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 665. « Was made, that his majesty was well assured that
" prince Rupert would readily comply with his
" pleasure." Upon the whole matter he desired him
" to deal as like a friend with him, and to tell him
" freely if he had no mind to the employment ; and
" he would take upon him to prevent the making
" the proposition to him, and that neither the king
" nor duke should take it unkindly."
The general appeared really surprised and full of
thoughts ; and after a short pause he desired him
" not to believe that he made the least difficulty?
" in his thoughts of undertaking the service ; but
" many things had occurred to him in the discourse,
" which he would mention anon." He said, " that
" for his own part he should be willing to go out of
" London to-morrow, and think himself much safer
" in any action against the Dutch than he could be
" in the post he was, where every day men died
" about him and in his view ; and as he thought
" that he had done the king better service by stay-
" ing in London, than he could have done in any
" other place, so he believed, if the sickness should
" continue," (as it was like enough to do, there ap-
pearing yet very little decrease,) " his majesty might
" think that his presence might be as necessary
" there as it had been." The chancellor replied,
" that his majesty had foreseen that contingency ;
" and had already resolved, that if that fell out to
" be the case, he should rather desire his residence
" should be where it had been (though he was much
" troubled to expose him to so much hazard) than
g difficulty] Omitted in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 487
" in any other place: but that his majesty's confi- 1665.
" dence in the mercy of God, that he would take off ~~
" this heavy visitation before the end of winter, had
" suggested the other designation of him to the ser-
" vice of the fleet, upon the good conduct whereof
" his own and the kingdom's happiness so much de-
" pended."
The general quickly replied, " that for that matter The gene-
" he was so willing to engage himself, that if the king to the "
" pleased, he would most readily serve under the com- ^ s plea~
" mand of prince Rupert :" to which the other an-
swered as readily, " that the king would never con-
" sent to that." And so they resolved presently to
go to the king, that his majesty and the duke might
know what would please them so much. And as they
were going, the general said smiling, " that he would
" tell him now what the true cause was, that had
" made that pause in him upon the first discourse of
" the business ; and that it would be necessary for
" him, after all things should be adjusted with the
" king and duke and prince Rupert, that what con-
" cerned him should still remain a secret, and prince
" Rupert be understood to have that command alone.
" For if his wife should come to know it, before he
" had by degrees prepared her for it, she would
" break out into such passions as would be very un-
" easy to him : but he would in a short time dis-
" pose her well enough ; and in the mean time no-
" thing should be omitted on his part, that was
" necessary for the advancement of the service."
Hereupon the king, the duke, the prince, and the
general consulted of all that was to be done : and
he at the end of two days returned to London with
488 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE.
1665. the same expedition that he came to Oxford, to-
"gether with sir George Carteret the treasurer of
the navy, and all orders that were requisite for the
sale of the East India ships, upon which all provi-
sions for the fleet were to be made.
END OF VOL. II.
University of California
SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY
405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388
Return this material to the library
from which it was borrowed.
27ft
1 6
4280
UCLA-College Library
DA447C6A2V.2
" 005 672 090 7
A nn • •' i
Live Music
Archive
Librivox
Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland
Museum of Art
Internet
Arcade
Console Living Room
Open Library
American
Libraries
TV News
Understanding
9/11